The Best Muzzleloading Movies

[Loyalist Dave]

Allegheny Uprising (1939) with John Wayne and Claire Trevor should be on the list (imho)
First, being done in 1939 the story isn't bad though the costumes are not that correct. It's based on the Fort Loudon, PA uprising where James Smith formed his Black Boys to disrupt trade with Indian tribes west of Chambersburg PA. Claire Trevor is a bit too much "tomboy" for the historic period, but it's a fun movie....,

NOTE in the movie poster... Claire Trevor gets billed ABOVE John Wayne. It's one of John Wayne's early films, btw.

BUT in one of the scenes, they actually load a musket in a proper manner, and they are using a lot of Springfield flintlock muskets ... OK so most are probably original 1840 models but they aren't .45-70 trapdoor rifles, and they use some flintlock rifles too.

LD

 

[tenngun]

Hard to watch. Poorly written script.

You would think contractions had not been invented yet. Better yet, you'd think contractions hadn't been invented yet.

I will take you to the river and you will get into a canoe, and you will live with me.

I'll take you to the river and you'll get into a canoe, and you'll live with me. Much easier to listen to.

We can think that they had them, because diatribes were written about their use. However they didn’t get in to written works at all. It does set a stage when you see then not used in a movie. Notably the Assignation of Jessie James by that dirty little coward Robert Ford, and True Grit
In English we used to pronounce the k sound at the start of knight or knife. And e was added to many words. Winde for instance that was windee
Much of Shakespeare rhymed when written that doesn’t rhyme now.
What’s natural to hear or say is only because we grew up with it.
Translation from most languages sounds backwards in English, or we sound backwards to much of the world.

 

[Slinginslugs]

Master and Commander

 

[BigAl52]

I liked Quigley and one that hasnt been mentioned is Outlaw Josey Wales. I liked Jeremiah Johnson also but Im not a fan of Robert Redford at all.

 

[Robby]

Drumbs Along the Mohawk

Robby

 

[Gold Grizzly]

I had one stuck at a shoot and shot it out. A little 4 f in the torch hole and out she went.

Ha, that's one way to do it.

 

[Rod Man]

Outlander has some good things about it.

RM

 

[tenngun]

Watched Out Of Liberty last night. B movie that had real good filming locations and clothing. The story was imprisonment and escape of Joesph Smith in Missouri in 1839. Stayed pretty true to the facts and neither pro or anti Mormon.
The rifle carried by the sheriff is a modern Hawken type compleat with big boxy adjustable rear sight. And another sheriff has a colt dragoon. It’s 39, he could have had a Patterson
Still a flintlock pistol was standard arm in the show
The jail looked just like the woodcut
All and all pretty free of anachronisms

 

[waksupi]

Abn

Many good movies listed so far but you might enjoy "April Morning" with Tommy Lee Jones. Like "Patriot" the main character does not want to get involved with the revolution but gets pulled into it. As almost always TLJ is superb.

Another similar is "All For Liberty".

Full movie;

 

[Johnny Tremain]

What happened to good TV shows ?

They are on the last place you would think to look. During the lockdown I watch The rifleman, Paladin, and many others on TBN, yup The Bible Network showed good men with guns defending against evil men with guns. Still looking for Johhny Yuma and Branded.

It took me 50 years to find a Davy Crockett knife. I saved the $12.95 to send away, but my folks would not mail it. It cost me $80 for a first gen Dickson Crockett knife (with papers). The 4th gen are made in India and now cost $150 at Dixie.

 

[BozoMiller]

"Wild Times" with Sam Elliott, as Hugh Cardiff. It was a tv mini series. Had a really good scene with him at a target match using a ML

 

[thomasgunn]

"Prey"(set in 1719) has some good flintlock action besides being my favorite movie of 2022.

 

[TobJohn]

"Prey"(set in 1719) has some good flintlock action besides being my favorite movie of 2022.

I think someone on this website said it, but a great detail of prey is how gross the French trappers are. Opposed to the classic Hollywood move of having people in the wilderness looking bathed and beautiful.

 

[Texas Gil]

Flint Mitchell (Clark Gable) does the scene where he shoots-the-Indian-with-the-ramrod.

Yes never forgot that scene

 

[Texas Gil]

Yes never forgot that scene

That was a very realistic scene!

 

[Prairie Banditti]

The 1970's TV series "Centennial" did a tolerable job @ accurately portraying the early fur-trapping era in the initial episodes with Robert Conrad and Richard Chamberlain.
Not a movie, but the series, "Into the Wild Frontier" may go a long way in keeping the spirit of traditional muzzleloading going with a new generation...I've already told my 6 y/o grandson the story of Hugh Glass and the grizzly bear and John Colter, and by chance we did a search looking for more info, and the series popped up - he's watched the one on John Colter over and over, and when he comes over, he asks to watch, "John Colter's run"...up next is the story of Jedediah Smith. Don't know the armorer(s) supplying the flintlocks and period accoutrements for this series, but they do a good job in accurately representing the fur-trapping period...

 

[Grenadier1758]

Ah, @Loyalist Dave, how can we overlook the scene in "Allegheny Uprising" when Claire Trevor is asked to load and shoot the rifle. Patch cloth in mouth, ball in the palm of her hand, pouring powder to cover the ball, cupping her hand to pour the powder in the barrel, laying the patch over the muzzle, starting and ramming the ball. It's as smooth as I've ever seen anyone load like that. Real flintlock too.

 

[Mulemauler]

That was awsome!

Almost better than the original, maybe a close second.

 

[Mulemauler]

Just thought of a couple I haven't seen for a while : "Man in the Wilderness" and "A Man Called Horse" both starring Richard Harris.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Ah, @Loyalist Dave, how can we overlook the scene in "Allegheny Uprising" when Claire Trevor is asked to load and shoot the rifle. Patch cloth in mouth, ball in the palof her hand, pouring powder to cover the ball, cupping her hand to pour the powder in the barrel, laying the patch over the muzzle, starting and ramming the ball. It's as smooth as I've ever seen anyone load like that. Real flintlock too.

EXACTLY the scene I was considering...

All that I can figure is that one of the prop-men on the set was likely born around 1870- 1880, and had actually used muzzleloaders in his youth

LD