Just watching Magnum Force...

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Ah, it's been less than a month -- no harm in reviving this thread, I hope.

Re: the "light specials" line: I bought the DVD of Magnum Force recently and viewed the critical scene several times.

The scene is ambiguous. They were talking about the shooting competition before the line is delivered, but they were also talking about killers out on the streets. The question the rookie cop (Sweet?) asked Harry was simply, "what kind of a load you use in that .44?"

As we know, Harry replies that he uses "a light special" that "give [him] more control with less recoil" than "a .357 with wadcutters."

Hmm. "with wadcutters."

Did 70s cops use .357 wadcutters (note that it might be shorthand for "semi-wadcutters") as a duty load? If so, then I think Harry is saying he uses a "light" .44 Special to pop perps. Not bad, but kinda makes the "most powerful handgun in the world" line misleading. (If so, then if I'm a thug, I'd rather get shot by Harry than by Davis (David Soul's character) and his Python...)

But if 70s cops did not use "wadcutters" on duty, then the context indicates that Harry is simply referring to using Specials as target ammo for competition, and his image is safe.

Anyone?
 
Maybe. But the whole vibe of John Milius's movies is sufficiently pro-gun that I wonder. And the .44 Mag was one of the icons of the series. I mean, the opening credits of Magnum Force are just one long, loving shot of that blued Model 29, with a finger on the trigger! And then, finally, that thumb slowly, lazily moves up to the hammer and cocks it. Cli-click. Great opening. Also gotta love the oh-so-70s, slightly funkified, "mean streets" music. ;)

But back to the issue: if the writers were clueless about guns, why have a scene talking about "specials" and "wadcutters" in the first place? Only the gun guys in the audience are gonna get anything out of it, and they'll care what the characters say.
 
Or, like a lot of movies and TV, you throw in good-sounding but essentially meaningless (to the movie) jargon to make the scene sound more "authentic." Like I assume much of the medical stuff is on those shows.
 
I agree with carebear,,, to the director it was just "technobabble" to make eastwood look like a gun savvy crime fighter with more interest in stopping crime, than in taking the criminals to court.
 
Harry is clearly discussing various target loads. For his revolver he uses light .44 Specials to get the trophies. This is in contrast to .357 wadcutters, which would indeed be more difficult to control.
 
Seems I recall hearing/reading somewhere that the gun Eastwood used was actually a 41 magnum, Model 57. Anyone else recall that or am I smoking crack?
 
Seems I recall hearing/reading somewhere that the gun Eastwood used was actually a 41 magnum, Model 57. Anyone else recall that or am I smoking crack?

I read somewhere that due to the unavailabilty of Model 29's at the time, they could only get one, so they bought a couple more N frames with 6.5 " barrels as spares for the shooting scenes where they could just keep handing Eastwood loaded guns (with blanks) as they would shoot the same scene multiple times.
 
I actually read in another article that Clint's pistol in one of the movies used .45 colt blanks since the prop guy had a ton of them from westerns. They bored the cylinder out. It was an actual magazine too that I read it in but can't remember where but it was before the age of the internet.

Tim
 
I read that article too, it said that the prop guns were .41 mags bored out to take Hollywood 5in1 blanks, which are essentially 45 LC blanks.
 
Having had a Model 29-2 with requisite 8 3/8 in barrel, what impressed was how in the movies DH could walk through narrow corridors shooting people. My eardrums would be gone after the first round. Those things are LOUD.
 
Just finished watchign the movie.
I thought that comment was made at the competition, but it was at the police shooting range. To me, that would indicate his carry load, as he was loading from the speedloaders in his pocket. I'll chalk it up to a brain fart on the writer, producer or director's end and figure the scene was just to show that the rookies were "gun saavy", versus the regular guys for whom being a policeman was "just a job".
 
I liked the movie where he said "We not just gonna let you walk outta here now"
Thief says " Who's we sucker"

DH "Smith and Wesson and me"

Love that line.
 
Here is a shot of mine:

S&W29%20(3).JPG


It's fully pinned & recessed - I don't think you can get more DH authentic!

:rolleyes:
 
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Side note:

Strolling through Borders Books this afternoon and noticed a bin of 2 for $12 DVDs. Magnum Force and Pale Rider were in the selections.
 
Tim I don't think so, I bought a 29 and a 27 in that time frame. Both guns had beautiful finishes. Still have them and they are more than worn, but I still love them.
 
Love the way 'Callahan' busts his lieutenant's (Hal Holbrook as 'Briggs') chops throughout the movie. Just short of outright insubordination, but of course that doesn't matter by the end.

Being in civil service myself, have had a tenuous relationship with a boss or two over the years. Just didn't blow 'em up! :evil: Yet..
 
After the scene in the parking garage where Callahan confronts the motorcycle cops, off camera, the three actors on bikes piled into one another as they drove off. Eastwood quipped, "I've just been threatened by the Keystone Cops!"
 
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