SHOCKER - The Origin of THE WOO

G

George Hill

Staff Alumnus
I am surprised.
After doing some serious research and heavy broswing - I came across the Origin of the JOHN WOO/CHOW YUN FAT style of two fisted gunfighting!
Now, there are earlier uses of dual handgun fighting. What differs this from the earlier stuff is that this is the first serial use of AUTOMATICS by a ROMANTIC/FLAWED HERO.
Here is my proof - you be the judge:
High_Sierra_Poster.jpg
Maltese_Falcon.jpg


From this point on - "Going WOO" and "Pulling a Bogart" shall be interchangable phrases for the general use of dual automatics... Subtle differences are there... For example WOO includes the use of blowing trench coats and spining or sliding down rails... And a Bogart includes the use of a cancer-stick, a slouch hat, and impecable taste.

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You might laugh in the face of FEAR... but unless your armed, its a nervous, unconvincing, little laugh.

[This message has been edited by George Hill (edited September 30, 2000).]
 
Class,Real Class ;) Nothing like a good old Bogey or Cagney flick :)

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We preserve our freedoms by using four boxes: soap,ballot,jury, and cartridge.
Anonymous
 
Strange, but I don't remember seeing Bogie use TWO automatics in High Sierra or the Maltese Falcon. It's been a while since I saw the movies, but I liked High Sierra for the scenery so have seen it several times when they show it on the tube.
I'll have to check it out.
Paul B.
 
I guess that from now on "don't Bogart that joint" will mean "don't shoot up that bar"!
(This is only meaningful if you remember the 60's... Or, If you lived thru but DON'T remember the 60's!)

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Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club
68-70
true story, a Union Gen. once said "Don't worry about those Rebs. They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist..SPLAT.

[This message has been edited by TexasVet (edited October 02, 2000).]
 
The Shadow, who knew what evil lurked in the hearts of fans of his radio show and pulp magazine series, packed a pair of .45 autos and had few qualms about using them. The Shadow franchise predated the classic Bogie thrillers pictured here.

I recall one Shadow pulp story where he packed FOUR .45s for some extra heavy action (and another where he used a military longarm to discharge a rifle grenade into a boat stuffed with escaping badguys).

He sometimes packed semiautos in the cliffhanger serials and movies which followed.
Jeff
 
Yeah - but THE SHADOW was a comic - and if you want to go there - you could include THE PHANTOM, but he wore purple tights and this is not forgivable.
While THE SHADOW didn't wear tights - he was played by a Baldwin... All Anti-Gun bastards.

So for these reasons - I'ld rather not go into comics...
 
Actually, The Shadow started out as a radio show, then as the star of novel length prose magazine stories.

As for Baldwin - hmmm, with The Shadow, The Edge, and scores of other violent films, ole Alec has made his fortune off of costarring with firearms, knives, etc.
Jeff
 
The Shadow also used a '28 Thompson, as well. Gotta love the guy. The first time that I thought of this two-gun .45 stuff, I thought of him.

I note that the poster for The Maltese Falcon has the inevitable single action auto with the hammer down. We'll just assume that the lugs are locked an that the pistol is in mid-fire, at that point.

"Big Colt autos spinning thunder death at everything that that moved...
Ending hate and greed and cruelty, with final flying truth,
From the sure hand of the Gringo Pistolero..."
Allen Damron, Gringo Pistolero

George-- Told Rob about this yet?

--L.P.
 
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