[BobWright]

We have here in Memphis a local station that shows a lot of old westerns, and, as has been noted on another thread, some errors showing "Colt" revovlers, and some not so much in error.

Can't remember the name, or didn't see the beginning, but Randolph Scott is shown with a 7 1/2" barreled Colt SAA with a web added under the barrel to pass for a Remington. And in a few older movies, the same thing done to resemble a cap-and-ball revovler in a Civil War setting.

There is a theater poster of William S. Hart brandishing two Colts, one of which is a Flat Top Target. Only trouble is, the photo was reversed and the ejector assemblies are on the wrong side.

Close examination of many old westerns will reveal Colt New Service or Official Police Models, usually with jigged bone grips and fitted with dummy ejector assemblies.

The most glaring error is the use of the Winchester M92 in 1870s settings. Even John Wayne (Gulp) was guilty of that.

Bob Wright

 

[BobWright]

I tend to catch those blatant Hollywood screw ups myself, however they still entertain.

You betch 'em, Red Ryder!

Bob Wright

 

[BobWright]

Yeah, in several of his movies someone would fly in to the local airport, in a DC-3, be driven to the ranch in a Ford woodie, then spend the rest of the time traveling by stagecoach.

And remember the one in which Gene and his singers had to fight off the bad guys while finishing the radio broadcast?

Bob Wright

 

[BobWright]

I spot 'wrong kind of gun' often like folks above. I'm sure anyone with specialist info or experience sees similar faux issues in his own field of knowledge. In my time of simulating work for a living in an airline, I'm sensitized to aviation/aircraft errors like one kind of airplane taking off and another type landing, use of airplane type that hadn't been produced for the time of the story, impossible fix & fly again, etc., --- aviation counterpart of 'wrong gun'. No doubt LEOs, lawyers, doctors, computer nerds, etc., would tell their similar stories.

Yeah, I've noticed aircraft flying that was not the one that took off. Also B-25s shown bombing targets deep in Germany. And the movie "Fighter Squadron" used P-51Bs for German ME-109s.

And during WW II so many movies used T-6s (Actually AT-6s then) as Japanese Zeros that on several ocassions actual T-6s were spotted and reported as Japanese.

And in one movie set in the Korean War, Republic F-84Fs were used as Mig-15s. And in one movie or TV series, depicting the death of one of the Kennedys showed him ready for take-off in a B-25, when he was killed in a B-24.

And I believe it was in "The Sting" a movie set in the 1920s, where a street scene revealed an ATM!

Bob Wright

 

[BobWright]

The tri-pod shown in the first photos of the M1917 MG has the micrometer adjustment for very fine adjustments, in the Traverse and elevating mechanism. When we turned in our water cooled .30s we kept the tripod with the T&E mechanisms. These were compatible with the 57mm recoiless rifles, and the 75mm as well.

For training, there was an inert 57mm round with a .30 caliber barrel inserted, so that the 57mm RR could be fired using .30 ball ammunition. The empty .30 caliber case had to be poked out with a cleaning rod. With ground squirrels so plentiful around Ft.Ord/Camp Roberts, we got plenty of time shooting the 57 mm RR for "familiarization." There was an elbow shaped scope sight, and one could dial the crosshairs dead on.

Even though I was a PFC at the time, my company commander had heard of my knowledge of weapons and made me the company armorer. After scoring 299/300 points on the IG inspection, the CO made me a corporal the nest day! I was in charge of 240 M1 rifles, 24 M2 carbines, 40 BARs, 20 M3 Submachine guns, 4 81mm mortars, and 2 106mm RR, plus a few more assorted weapons. And I "had" to test fire them at times.

Bob Wright

 

[BobWright]

How come the good guys never loose their cowboy hat in a fist fight???!

I believe Gene Autry once answered that question. He was once asked about that, and especially after bulldoging the outlaw from horseback. His answer was that when he lost his hat, the producer made them re-shoot the scene. He said he got into the habit of jamming his hat so hard down on his head that it just wouldn't come off.

Bob Wright