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Forgot about all the ricochets. Hollywood. Those cowboys also had an endless supply of ammo it seems, because they sure did a lot of shooting, and missing. Except when the Indians were attacking. For some reason they were always low on ammo in those engagements. Oh, and let’s not forget getting their hat shot off.
Shoot low boys. They're riding Shetland Ponies.
Also it was real easy to knock a guy out by clobbering him over the head with your 6 gun. No long lasting ill effects either.
Shoot low boys. They're riding Shetland Ponies.
I grew up in the ‘Saturday Matinee’ era. 10 cents covered the admission and five cents for the bag of popcorn. Had to do chores all week and generally behave to earn the privilege of going. They also gave out picture buttons of the cowboy stars and side kicks sometimes. I still have 14 0f the original pin-backs in a display box hanging in my “man cave”. I became a fan of “Tom Horn” after seeing the Steve McQueen movie. I read the autobiography he wrote about his early life before his days in Wyoming. Having lived in Arizona during my high school and early 20s I was amazed by his exploits during the Apache Wars.
I was fortunate to enough to acquire one of the two Model 1897 riot guns used in the movie “Tom Horn”. It too hangs on the wall next to the “TOM HORN” movie poster. The 1876 rifle was effective in the movie, but I wish they would have used an 1894 for authenticity. He would, of course, have used the latest most handy weapon of the day. Did you know his 30-30 rifle was a standard round barrel rifle with express sights?
rogertherelic said
I grew up in the ‘Saturday Matinee’ era. 10 cents covered the admission and five cents for the bag of popcorn.
I must have grown up in the tail-end of that era, but by then “monster movies” & teen garbage like Rock Around the Clock had replaced B Westerns. Frankly, I don’t miss most of those Westerns (many of which are still shown Sat morning on TCM), but I’d have loved to see the great serials being shown at a slightly earlier period. I have seen a great many of them now, either on DVDs or TCM.
But I was a victim of inflation! Admission had jumped to a shocking 25 cents!
clarence said
rogertherelic said
I grew up in the ‘Saturday Matinee’ era. 10 cents covered the admission and five cents for the bag of popcorn.I must have grown up in the tail-end of that era, but by then “monster movies” & teen garbage like Rock Around the Clock had replaced B Westerns. Frankly, I don’t miss most of those Westerns (many of which are still shown Sat morning on TCM), but I’d have loved to see the great serials being shown at a slightly earlier period. I have seen a great many of them now, either on DVDs or TCM.
But I was a victim of inflation! Admission had jumped to a shocking 25 cents!
I saw the original True Grit at the Saturday Matinee, there was always a Three Stooges Episode before the main feature just to get things going.
Whenever I watch it now my wife says “You’ve seen that movie a thousand times, how can you watch it again” – I guess I should be painting something.
Anyway, in reading up on the history of the making of the film I was surprised to learn that the part of Texas Ranger Le Beouf was originally offered to Elvis Presley, but he turned it down because he couldn’t get top billing over The Duke.
Can you imagine what a disaster that would have been ?
November 7, 2015
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It was fun watching Commancheros and Undefeated with dates and models in mind recently. It was pretty funny when the Commancheros talked about trading the “old” 1892’s for “new” Henrys…or what appeared to be Henrys. In Undefeated the rifles appeared to be 1892 Winchesters and 1873 Springfield’s, a bit early for the period immediately following the Civil War.
Mike
TXGunNut said
In Undefeated the rifles appeared to be 1892 Winchesters and 1873 Springfield’s, a bit early for the period immediately following the Civil War.
Such time-warps are nauseatingly common in movie-making. Very recently I watched on TCM an expensively produced film on the rise to power of Catherine the Great, called “Young Catherine.” The lavish sets & costumes appeared to have been reconstructed with meticulous attention to historical accuracy. But then there came a scene of a company of soldiers preparing to fire their weapons–they were Moisin-Nagants!!! And they were shown in close-ups almost good enough to read the inspector’s marks! (Russian military arms are loaded with inspector’s marks.) Up to that point, I’d been enjoying the film (being a Russia-lover), but when that absurdity appeared, I had to hit “stop.” Movie producers & prop-men always assume the majority of viewers will be idiots…and they are right.
November 7, 2015
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Good eye, Clarence. It does seem they either don’t care or are blissfully ignorant-or hope we are. I think it’s John Milius who got my attention awhile back by getting the guns right.
Mike
It’s so common to see 1892’s in the wrong era that’s it’s hardly worth mentioning. But I’ll mention it since I was watching Fort Apache this morning and saw 92’s being used by Indians. The setting was when Cochise was running things and he died in 74. Oh well.
The two that stick in my mind as far as period correct firearms are “The Man From Laramie” with Jimmy Stewart (and features what appears to be an original Henry rifle). The other is “For a Few Dollars More” because Eastwood looks to have a Volcanic rifle keeping the gunfight fair in the final scenes of the movie.
My all time favorite gun blunder is “Dances with Wolves” when Kostner is shooting at that buffalo with an empty Henry–not to mention the roles of the Pawnee and Sioux should have been reversed.
1892takedown @sbcglobal.net ......NRA Endowment Life Member.....WACA Member
"God is great.....beer is good.....and people are crazy"... Billy Currington
1892takedown said
The two that stick in my mind as far as period correct firearms are “The Man From Laramie” with Jimmy Stewart (and features what appears to be an original Henry rifle). The other is “For a Few Dollars More” because Eastwood looks to have a Volcanic rifle keeping the gunfight fair in the final scenes of the movie.My all time favorite gun blunder is “Dances with Wolves” when Kostner is shooting at that buffalo with an empty Henry–not to mention the roles of the Pawnee and Sioux should have been reversed.
Great Films – Man from Laramie is another James Stewart/Anthony Mann film. A Few Dollars More was on the other night – one of the best scenes near the start is where Lee Van Cleef opens the side roll on his horse and 4 rifles drop down. He puts a detachable stock on his pistol and plugs the bad guy thru the head with it.
Did not see Dances with Wolves – Costner.
Another movie that is not holding up well over time is Tombstone – too foppish and way too corny.
I’ve seen all of the movies mentioned here and I agree with some and disagree with others. Italian movies have never been my favorites, but that just me. I’m of the era when plots were not as gratifying as scenery. Those 1940 through late 1950 films that were shot in the “west” are still my favorites. John Waynes “Stagecoach”, “Angle and the Badman” and “Shepard of the Hills” are just a few of many and not just John Wayne. They all depict the use of Winchesters, although the guns used are mostly ’92 carbines. As far as Winchesters being a featured firearm, “Winchester ’73” certainly rates high on my list. Others that come to mind are Jimmy Stewart’s “The Naked Spur” and “The Last Hunt” with Robert Taylor. Beautiful ’73 carbine, ’76 Winchester rifle with nickeled receiver and long range sights. Also a dandy 1874 Sharps (looks like a mid-range). I have a whole list of movies where vintage Colt, Winchesters and other firearms were used. I miss those old movie days.
I never liked Tombstone from day one. No depth to the characters (no, not even Doc) and not historical while pretending to be so. Debating that is just going down a rabbit hole, so further I sayeth naught.
As to the old westerns, like Ford’s, where scenery was the lead, I can only say this: I’ve heard about that, many times. Unfortunately, I was too young to catch these films on the big screen. 
On T.V. they were just okay.
My wife and I will usually go to theaters to see movies only if they are what we call “Big Screen” movies, where the cinematography and the scenery are big-screen-worthy. I would gladly shell out full freight to go see these old classics the way they were meant to be seen. Especially if they are originally fine, or remastered, if that would matter.
Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Jason Robards in Once Upon a Time in the West! With nice bonuses from Woodie Strode and Jack Elam, hell of a way to open a movie. Claudia Cardinale is a nice sight to look at as well. I love the ending where Cheyenne tells her to go give them water.
Sincerely,
Maverick
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Huck Riley said
Unfortunately, I was too young to catch these films on the big screen.
You are SO right about TV! It’s a degraded viewing experience–even with a giant screen TV. Sadly, the “big screen” has almost disappeared, except in a few big cities that have preserved classic movie palaces; most other theaters have had to convert to “multi-plexes” in order to survive–only marginally better than TV.
Thank God I had the good fortune in the ’70s to live in a city which still had a ’30s “neighborhood theater”–no lavish “movie palace,” but the “big screen” was intact, & all the original Art Deco furnishings. This theater (no doubt long ago converted into a multi-plex) screened ONLY pictures from the ’30s & ’40s, probably because the rental fees were so low compared to current films. 50+ yrs later, I still remember & treasure the experience of watching so many great films (usually from the 5th or 6th row back from the screen) as they were meant to be seen.
We were lucky being raised in the era of Big Screen Theaters – Good background scenery really benefits a film and especially in the color used in the 40’s and 50’s.
Also, although some of the plots were a little thin at times many of the actors themselves were very well developed and carried the film.
I really can’t think of too many current/modern actors who could really do a good job in a top-notch Western.
Just like the guns, the older films had a quality that is no longer produced.
David McNab said
We were lucky being raised in the era of Big Screen Theaters – Good background scenery really benefits a film and especially in the color used in the 40’s and 50’s.Also, although some of the plots were a little thin at times many of the actors themselves were very well developed and carried the film.
I really can’t think of too many current/modern actors who could really do a good job in a top-notch Western.
Just like the guns, the older films had a quality that is no longer produced.
Although I don’t believe he has done a Western-themed film recently, Tom Selleck is the best actor of our generation in the genre IMO.
AND, he’s a collector and second amendment advocate……..
tsbccut said
Although I don’t believe he has done a Western-themed film recently, Tom Selleck is the best actor of our generation in the genre IMO.
AND, he’s a collector and second amendment advocate……..
Your right about Selleck. In today’s Hollywood–so radically left-wing, it makes someone like Biden seem conservative–it’s a wonder he can find any work at all. Every time I see a news report of one of those fantastically over the top H’wood award ceremonies, bimbos flaunting themselves on the red carpet before the fawning left-wing media, etc., I think “where are the ISIS suicide bombers when they could do some good?”
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