Movies and original firearms

Been thinking about this off and on. When you look at the old movies, you can see that many of the guns are originals. I am not speaking of the Trapdoor Springfields that were butchered to make them look like flintlock muskets or foreign muskets (even pistols!). But unaltered originals that were used in the movies. Back in their day, these could be cheap to purchase.

Did the big studios have their own armory of originals? If so, where are they now? Or, were they sold off, and now private companies provide the originals as needed for $$$?

My lovely wife feigns interest when I complain or comment on firearms being used.

I have a movie to tell about. Ir's called Arizona. A 1940 made Western. This is a gem in that all the guns would be orginals. Percussion revolvers throughout and one colt revolving rifle too. It' starts in 1860 so the time is about right. A bad guy even has a Starr revolver and you get a good look at it. A Columbia pictures movie. With Jean Arthur and William Holden. I have the DVD but it can be found streaming sometimes.

BAck in the day, original surplus arms could be had for next to nothing. In Sargeant York, it appears they are shooting original long rifles...keeping in mind, "antique/vintage" arms were not antique...or vintage at that time. In several relatively current /modern made movies, in particular I am thinking "Gettysburg" and "Gods and Generals", a large portion of the soldiers seen were reenactors, using thier personal arms...some authentic reproductions, some sticklers using originals.

Tho' I cannot remember the name/reference, there are still a few "Gun Prop" businesses in existence that rent prop guns (including originals) to the industry and create needed ones (some molded plastic/rubber/etc). I had an old "Guns" magazine around here somewhere with an article on the topic. Altering functional firearms to work with blanks is apparently also an art form. Old westerns frequently featured " .38's" - not caliber, but able to apparently shoot 38 times without reloading.

sheriff john said:

Tho' I cannot remember the name/reference, there are still a few "Gun Prop" businesses in existence that rent prop guns (including originals) to the industry and create needed ones (some molded plastic/rubber/etc). I had an old "Guns" magazine around here somewhere with an article on the topic. Altering functional firearms to work with blanks is apparently also an art form. Old westerns frequently featured " .38's" - not caliber, but able to apparently shoot 38 times without reloading.

Click to expand...

Single actions, bolt rifles and levers are a simple task.
Semi autos and machine guns are an entirely different beast. Blank firing adapters are machined and installed so they are not obvious. You have to generate enough pressure to reliably cycle the action but keep it safe to nearby persons. Often weapons such as 1919’s, M2’s, M60’s, Orlekons and similar are propane operated.
Movie trivia:
Gary Cooper in Sgt York used a P08 Luger for the filming of his exploits. The real Sgt York used a 1911 during his action.
The 1911 was more difficult to run on blanks than the P08 was.
“Theatrical License”