jammed guns ignored in movies

[old hoodoo]

What movies have we seen actors with jammed autos pretend that they
aren't jammed and then the guns are unjammed in the next scene?

Offhand I can think of two:

1. The Ipcress File, Michael Caine (Luger) Shoots it, it is jammed
dialog continues, next cut kills the bad guy with the majically unjammed
gun.

2. Dumb and Dumber, I don't know the actors name and didn't recognize
the exact type--looked like a .380 or .32 but it was the scene in the
bedroom at the end of the film. He has fired at the bed I think, cut is
back to him and the gun is jammed, then in the next cut it is unjammed.

I know there are some more out there...

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[Radem44]

Along a slighly different line, when is the last time you saw an actor clear
a jammed firearm in a movie? I can't remember ever seeing this happen in
anything but a war movie, and damned few times even then. Usually the actor
just throws the weapon to the ground and the pivotal "Kung Fu" portion of
your movie begins :-)

Radem

"old hoodoo" <alf...@cox-internet.com> wrote in message
news:d1h4h6$3nv$1...@grapevine.wam.umd.edu...

[Pete Stephenson]

In article <d1h4h6$3nv$1...@grapevine.wam.umd.edu>,
old hoodoo <alf...@cox-internet.com> wrote:

# What movies have we seen actors with jammed autos pretend that they
# aren't jammed and then the guns are unjammed in the next scene?
#
# Offhand I can think of two:
#
# 1. The Ipcress File, Michael Caine (Luger) Shoots it, it is jammed
# dialog continues, next cut kills the bad guy with the majically unjammed
# gun.
#
# 2. Dumb and Dumber, I don't know the actors name and didn't recognize
# the exact type--looked like a .380 or .32 but it was the scene in the
# bedroom at the end of the film. He has fired at the bed I think, cut is
# back to him and the gun is jammed, then in the next cut it is unjammed.
#
# I know there are some more out there...

At the range scene in S.W.A.T. where Colin Farrell switches from his M4
to his 1911, he gets off two shots and the round stovepipes when
ejecting his second shot. The slide is obviously jammed halfway back and
the casing is visible.

Still, "bang" noises continue for two or more shots, and the pistol
jerks back as to simulate recoil.

Why they didn't simply re-film that 5 second piece is beyond me...

--
Pete Stephenson
HeyPete.com

[BTMO]

"old hoodoo" <> wrote

# What movies have we seen actors with jammed autos pretend that they
# aren't jammed and then the guns are unjammed in the next scene?

As someone (from the movie industry) posted here some time, what happens is
the prop department put in *exactly* enough blank rounds for the scene in
question. When the gun runs out, the slide locks back.

When the next scene is shot (and there is no reason to assume scenes are
shot in the same sequence they are seen in the theatre), the prop dept has
reloaded the gun with the right number of bullets for that scene.

Most people neither know nor care...

Have a look through the google archives. You can spend quite a bit of time
reading about it, and it is all fascinating!

:-)

[D. Crockett]

I saw a historical (frontier) movie once with a bunch of guy firing
flintlocks over the wall of a fort. They even fired with the frizzen open.

"old hoodoo" <alf...@cox-internet.com> wrote in message
news:d1h4h6$3nv$1...@grapevine.wam.umd.edu...
> ...

[200...@wongfaye.com]

yea what amazes me is the double action 1911s they always seem to have
the hammer in the lowered position

one scene that bugs me is in "stand by me" when gordo fires the gun in
the air to stop the thugs he then for dramatic effect cocks the hammer
(which should have been cocked already after firing)

i really should have been writing all the misakes i saw down but i
figured moviemistakes.com already has em all

[Sawfish]

"Radem44" <dra...@comcast.net> writes:

> ...

Yep. But this is excusable when taken in the context of filmic drama. If
you think about, clearing a tough jam (drop mag, tilt, cycle, shake, etc.)
is the coitius interruptus of the action flick.

If the plot calls for tension building *because* of the jam, then it would
probably be OK.

But entertainment films aren't a good place to learn about anything
factual.

> ...

> ...

> ...
--
--Sawfish
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"If there's one thing I can't stand, it's intolerance."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[these...@yahoo.com]

This isn't a jam, but in Walking Tall (the new one, not the origional)
the girl was shooting the automatic (didn't see what kind) in the
gunfight at the sheriff office, and when she runs out of ammo, the
slide doesn't lock back and you keep hearing click click click. I guss
that was what Hollywood wanted to see and hear, and accuracy wasn't
important. I think it was mentioned in a different post in the past,
but it was also interesting in Man on Fire when the father kills
himself, he has a glock with no magazine in it, just the round in the
chamber, and when he shoots himself, the slide locks back, despite the
lack of a magazine.
Mike Owens.

[wb...@direcway.com]

Not to be impolite here but...who cares. It's acting and movies. I'm
also a pilot. I can't tell you how many times I go to the movies
(especially bad in a "Flying Movie") and you watch them do things that
just don't work or especially sound that way. The worst is the use of
a sound clip for a reciprocating engine when they are flying a
turboprop.

But on the same note, how does a gun that shoots "blanks" eject a
shell, let alone create ANY recoil?

[ANDREWS]

You did notice, of course, that AIRPLANE put that one in on purpose for
laughs. The 707 sounded like four recips droning along.

As for how automatics work with blanks, they have to be modified. Usually a
threaded insert is screwed into the muzzle that almost totally blocks the
bore and creates enough back pressure to work the slide. There is still a
tiny hole in the center, calibrated to let out some pressure but retain
enough for functioning. I was watching a WWII movie recently that showed
someone firing a .50 caliber browning machine gun. One shot was lined up
with the muzzle and if you looked closely the machine gun looked more like a
.17 instead of a .50 because the constrictor was too close to the visible
end of the muzzle.

<wb...@direcway.com> wrote in message
news:d1lal6$kvs$1...@grapevine.wam.umd.edu...
> ...

[Association Security]

In the scene where they were reconstituting he mummy at some ritual, he
jumps out from cover and starts to fire his lever action winchester
shotgun - gets a very obvious stovepipe that he closes the action on - then
shoulders and fires.

[Kevin Stevens]

In article <d1lakm$kv2$1...@grapevine.wam.umd.edu>, Sawfish <m...@q7.com>
wrote:

# "Radem44" <dra...@comcast.net> writes:

# Yep. But this is excusable when taken in the context of filmic drama. If
# you think about, clearing a tough jam (drop mag, tilt, cycle, shake, etc.)
# is the coitius interruptus of the action flick.
#
# If the plot calls for tension building *because* of the jam, then it would
# probably be OK.

Eddie Murphy does a pretty good job of demonstrating a mag swap with a
hole in one arm in "Beverly Hills Cop", for exactly that reason.

KeS

[CentralNJBill]

OK, I know we all (rightfully) make fun of movies where the laws of physics
governing real guns is flagrantly ignored but, considering we're talking
about resurrected MUMMYS, I'll cut them some slack.

I'm more concerned, though, with "news" shows like 60 Minutes showing
admitted gun runners and claiming it's an argument that guns should be
banned. That someone can use a legal object for illegal purposes is no
reason to ban the object, otherwise street racers would precipitate the
banning of all sport cars, and people being attacked with baseball bats and
golf clubs would put Alex Rodriguez and Tiger Woods out of business.

"Association Security" <asin...@qwest.net> wrote in message
news:d1miqi$57p$1...@grapevine.wam.umd.edu...
> ...

[Gun_Guy]

You can almost always find an empty auto with the slide locked back
while still firing in movies with guns. "you keep hearing click click
click" This is classic... Again found in most action movies.

Gotta love the ones where they saw multiple cars up with a 30rd mag
from one of those wicked "OOZIES". US Military should get some of those
to mount on their helicopters.

[John Chase]

wb...@direcway.com wrote:

# Not to be impolite here but...who cares. It's acting and movies. I'm
# also a pilot. I can't tell you how many times I go to the movies
# (especially bad in a "Flying Movie") and you watch them do things that
# just don't work or especially sound that way. The worst is the use of
# a sound clip for a reciprocating engine when they are flying a
# turboprop.

Context-dependent. Think "Airplane!"....

-jc-

[feedme...@yahoo.com]

A great example of the reduced port in a muzzle can be found in
Predator - it's in the scene where Arnold, and the crew are tearing
down the forest with a major fire fight after Jessie V is killed -
blasting with the Mini gun (Ol' Painless) and everything else they
got. Focus in on the muzzle of the bald black sergeant's belt fed SAW
- it glows up to bright red and cools down through cherry, orange gun
metal the second or two after he runs out of ammo. With a DVD and
step slo-mo you can see the orifice is reduced as it drops through the
colors.

It is at the 47min37sec point in the movie.

I still remember seeing that on the big screen as a much younger
viewer and being wowed by the detail of that split second sight.

[Randy Sweeney]

"John Chase" <CICSP...@netscape.net> wrote in message

# The worst is the use of
# # a sound clip for a reciprocating engine when they are flying a
# # turboprop.
#
# Context-dependent. Think "Airplane!"....

Just a remake of "Zero Hour"

[pyotr filipivich]

I missed the staff meeting but the minutes show John Chase
<CICSP...@netscape.net> wrote back on Wed, 23 Mar 2005 12:57:03 +0000
(UTC) in rec.guns :
#wb...@direcway.com wrote:
#
## Not to be impolite here but...who cares. It's acting and movies. I'm
## also a pilot. I can't tell you how many times I go to the movies
## (especially bad in a "Flying Movie") and you watch them do things that
## just don't work or especially sound that way. The worst is the use of
## a sound clip for a reciprocating engine when they are flying a
## turboprop.
#
#Context-dependent. Think "Airplane!"....

Yeah, but _Airplane_ wasn't trying to be "serious".

I got into a similar discussion with my brother, about missile base
security. We decided that "realism" took a back seat to "drama",
especially when there are security issues involved. Combat movies have
this same problem. In reality, you are spread out, but that makes for a
badly composed "photograph", so everybody bunches up around the leader in
order for him to speak directly to them.
I wonder what Audie Murphy thought when he played himself in his post
war biopic?

Along those lines was something which may have been brought out in
"Staring Pancho Via as Himself." A movie company cut a deal with ol'
Pancho to record his battles and use them in a movie. But the battle
scenes just didn't look "real" and so some of them were reshot back in
California.
--
pyotr filipivich
TV NEWS: Yesterday's newspaper read to the illiterate.