If I just wanted a shooter 45 revolver, I'd look for one of the 1937 Brazilian Contract versions of the S&W Model 1917 Army Model. I've heard that a lot of them were used in WWII by the Brazilian Expedition force that fought the Germans in Italy alongside the American army, particulary in the Monte Cassino area, but there's no way to know which ones were used in the war and which weren't.
I have one of these Brazilian contact models. They weren't used by the US in WWI or II so have little collecter interest in this country and are generally a couple of hundred bucks cheaper in price than the S&W 1917s with the flaming bomb insignia and marked US Army and all that..
However, I think they were better guns with better gun metal. Some people say they were just made of parts left over from WWI but I don't believe it, at least I don't believe mine was. I think mine was made of better steel than the 1917 guns were. Mine also had a high quality commercial blue finish and a squared rear sight, which is certainly an improvement over the S&W US Army revolvers of 1917. The only things on my gun that I think may have been parts left over from WWI are the smooth wood hand grips which are exactly like the WWI version, and the swivel ring on the butt of the gun.
The great thing about these 1917 Model guns whether Colt, S&W 1917, or S&W Brazilian Contract, is how versatile they are, and how inexpensive they are in price compared to comparable aged 45 autos and how inexpensive the RESUSABLE metal moon clips are as compared with 45 auto magazines. I believe the 45 Revolvers with Moon Clips are NEARLY as fast firing as 45 autos, are just as fast to reload, and with a 5 1/2 inch barrel are probably more accurate, but heres the real advantage: I routinely pre-load 15 REUSABLE moon clips with relatively inexpensive UMC 45 ACP ammo and take them and my gun target shooting. That's 90 rounds. In a 45 auto, you'd need 13 magazines to do the same amount of shooting, unless of course you want to load magazines on the range instead of shoot. (How much would 13 magazines cost, anyway?)
And by the way, for the recoil sensitive, the 1917 Model revolver is no lightweight, (it was a good skull buster, which is better to have than nothing when you're out of ammo) and because of that weight, its recoil when shooting UMC 45 ACP 230 grain ball ammo is surprisingly mild. Nothing at all to be afraid of. The muzzle blast noise is reasonably mild too, outdoors, but wear hearing protection anyway.
When I get home from the range, I reload with Black Hills 45 Auto Rim 255 Grain LSWC's (a rimmed cartridge made for a revolver; no moon clips needed)for bedside table HD duty. Hows that for versatility in a handgun?
You can usually identify these guns by the tool marks and/or non-matching finish on the cylinder face.