Casablanca Pistol

IIRC, it was a Colt pocket model, either the 1903 .32 ACP or the 1908 .380. I am pretty sure it was not a 1911.

Jim
 
I just checked to be sure on the DVD: I'm pretty sure that its a 1903. When he draws it from his coat you can see that the slide isn't very long and it doesn't look very big in his hands.
 
It's true that the movie POSTER shows Bogart holding a 1911. However, in the actual FILM, Bogart does indeed use either a 1903 or 1908. (I have both a videotape and a copy of the original poster. Yeah, I like the film.)
 
Right, it was - - -

- - - a .32 or .380, best I recall.

Read somewhere that Bogart was a man of slight build and was sort of sensitive about it. Insisted on using the smaller pistols, because a 1911 would emphasize small size of his hands.

Next time you see "High Sierra," note that he also uses one of the pre-1911 Colt .38 autos..

In "Treasure of the Sierra Madre"-- I used to think he had a Colt New Service, but on a close look, he was using a Colt Army Special/Official Police .38.

And again - - - In "To Have and Have Not," he used a .30 carbine, and not the Thompson about which Hemingway wrote in the novel. I really thought this was interesting, because, when that movie was made, ALL the studios either had or could easily rent Thompson guns, but .30 carbines were just beginning to become available, and were in great demand for war movies. But a Tommy Gun, especially with a drum magazine, is a fairly hefty piece, and the petite lil' carbine suited Bogie far better.

I understand Alan Ladd was the same way, but I haven't seen as many of his non-western films.

Best,
Johnny
 
Heck, I thought he was holding an Ortgies, at least in the cafe when he first pointed it at Raines. (I have to addthat was when watching on a pretty small screen and lousy TV.)
 
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Most big actors were 'sensitive' to things like this.... on first thought

you think, these guys must have been premadonahs or something... but if you think a little further you realize that what they were doing was going to be watched and critiqued by folks... forever... pretty daunting.

Just this discussion shows this to be true.

John Wayne I heard was very picky about the horses he used.

I thought Humphrey used a lever action rifle in 'To Have and Have Not'?
 
Everyone should be picky about horses. They are afraid everything is going to eat them, they are fast and strong enough to kill you in a split second, and they have a brain with exactly three functioning neurons. In spite of that, very enjoyable at times.
 
Here you go:

casablancagun.jpg


Clearly not a 1911, despite the poster.
 
In one of his earlier movies he draws from a shoulder holster - It was such a fumble that I just laughed !! :D I don't remember what movie.
Some actors are very competant with guns , some are hopeless !
 
Some actors are very competant with guns , some are hopeless !
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I read some time ago that Don Johnson, prior to starting the Miami Vice series went to Gunsite to learn to use the pistol for the show.

The best, for the period, style of shooting I remember from the movies was the "Wind and the Lion".

The English dude pulled a Webly from his shoulder holster, and took a good BULLSEYE stand, drops 6 bad guys, gun goes click and he says 'DAMN'.

But thats the way people shot back then.
 
The best, for the period, style of shooting I remember from the movies was the "Wind and the Lion".
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I love that scene. Makes me remember to move when I practice, and not just stand there. Too bad he didn't have two Webleys. I always wondered the gun in the movie was the Royal Irish Constabulary model.
 
That pistol he is holding to me looks like a Colt 1908 380ACP. Or maybe a 1903, someone already mentioned this. I believe that is what he is holding, basically the same pistol, either 32 or 380.
 
Alan Ladd used 1911s in his nonwestern movies.
In one, where he plays a returning WW2 GI accused of murder, he has his service pistol.
In another, where he plays a Postal Service detective, he also carries one.
Anyone remember the exact line that Alan Ladd says in the movie, when asked why he isn't married?
Something about true love is a .45.
 
In "The Maltese Falcon" the "Gunsill" Draws two 1911's on Bogie in which Bogie quickly disarms him using his overcoat. Priceless scene, but Bogie always seemed to prefer revolvers or small autos in his films when he was on the shooting end of them.
 
And just to throw some more useless trivia into the pot, A actor by the name of Ronald Regan was first selected to play the lead in Casablanca, but he declined.So old Hump went on to make one of the most romantic chick flicks in history.
 
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