M1911 pistol series

The M1911A1 pistol and variants are used by the following actors in the following movies, television series, anime, and video games:

Specifications

(1911 - Present)

Type: Pistol

Caliber: 11.43x23mm/.45 Automatic Colt Pistol(ACP) (Various calibers in clone copies including .22 LR, .380 ACP, .38 Super, 9x19mm, .40 S&W, .357 SIG, 10mm Auto, and .45 GAP)

Capacity: 7+1 (original), 8, 9, 10, 15,(all single stack mags for original M1911A1) 30 drum. Various capacities for clone copies.

Fire Modes: Semi-automatic (single action)

Information

M1911 to M1911A1 comparison pictures.

The 1911 pistol is considered by many gun collectors and veterans to be the greatest self-loading pistol ever made and the grandfather of the modern handgun, which despite its age is still used alongside modern pistols today. Designed by John Moses Browning in 1910 with patent dates going as far back as 1897, the .45 caliber pistol was adopted into the U.S. military arsenal February 14, 1911. Browning had combined traits of his former pistols and built a prototype around the recently-developed .45 ACP round. The end result was the M1911.

Browning sold the pistol to Colt, the first major company that would market the handgun. During initial testing in the military trials, the M1911 fired 1,000 rounds flawlessly, becoming the first self-loading pistol to pass with a 100% grade. After World War I, the military modified the M1911 design to optimize it for combat, adding a slightly larger ejection port, shortening the trigger, extending the grip safety tang to help prevent "slide bite", and adding an arched mainspring housing to allow the gun to better fit in the user's hand. The new firearm was called the Colt M1911A1. Many companies manufactured the M1911 for the U.S. military besides Colt, including Remington and Springfield Armory. The M1911A1's power and reliability kept it in circulation through the Korean and Vietnam Wars before the pistol began showing its age. However, it should be noted that at the time that the military began looking for a new sidearm, no new M1911's had been purchased since 1945 (note; this statement only applies to large contract orders, many small special purpose purchases have been made for 1911 pattern pistols since). In the 1980's, the U.S. Military held new military trials, during which they tested numerous pistols, the finalists being the SIG Sauer P226 and the Beretta 92F. Due to the high price of the SIG Sauer's magazines, the Beretta 92F was chosen to replace the M1911A1, a highly controversial decision to this day.

The M1911A1 remains alive in the hands of many gun enthusiasts and many U.S. Military special forces. Modern incarnations include models built by Colt, responsible for the M1911A1, Commander and Officers series, and Springfield Armory which faithfully continues building 1911's based on their original designs. Para USA manufactures a number of high-capacity double stack variations, including the P13 and P14 and the LDA (Light Double Action). Kimber, who is acknowledged as the first large scale factory mass produced "custom" 1911 manufacturer, produces versions such as the Desert Warrior and the Custom II, variations that are used by some special forces and SWAT teams.

Countless foreign copies are also in circulation, including Llamas, Mausers, and Argentinian clones. Despite being almost 100 years old, the 1911 pistol continues to be manufactured with almost no major design changes, and has proven itself as one of the most popular handguns ever made.

M1911

Original Colt M1911 (dated 1913) - .45 ACP

M1911 - .455 Webley, a licensed handgun to the British Armed Forces during and after World War 1, later issued to members of the R.A.F. and Royal Navy

The original M1911 first issued to the U.S. Military during WWI. When identifying, note a smaller ejection port (not visible in photo), smaller grip safety spur, original diamond cut checker wood grips, a flat mainspring housing (on the rear of the grip below the grip safety), longer trigger, lack of trigger finger recess frame cuts, and a larger hammer spur.

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
Mesrine: Killer Instinct	Vincent Cassel	Mesrine	.	2009
Public Enemies	Johnny Depp	John Dillinger	.	2009
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull	Igor Jijikine	Colonel Antonin Dovchenko	.	2008
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor	Brendan Fraser	Rick O' Connell	.	2008
Hellboy	Angus MacInnes	Sgt. Whitman	.	2004
Letters from Iwo Jima	Ken Watanabe	General Tadamichi Kuribayashi	.	2006
Superman Returns	.	Bank Heist Leader	.	2006
King Kong	Evan Parke	Ben Hayes	.	2005
We Were Soldiers	Sam Elliott	Sgt. Maj. Basil Plumley	.	2002
Ghosts of Mars	Duane Davis	Uno	.	2001
The Lost Battalion	Adam James	Capt. Nelson Holderman	.	2001
The Lost Battalion	Phil McKee	Capt. George McMurtry	.	2001
The Lost Battalion	Rick Schroder	Maj. Charles White Whittlesey	.	2001
Enemy of the State	Gene Hackman	Brill	.	1998
Brother (Brat)	Victor Sukhorukov	Victor "Tatar" Bagrov	.	1997
Brother (Brat)	Anatoly Zhuravlyov	"Nervous"	.	1997
Brother (Brat)	Sergei Bodrov	Danila Bagrov	.	1997
Titanic	Billy Zane	Caledon "Cal" Nathan Hockley	Nickel Plated, Fully Engraved	1997
Titanic	David Warner	Spicer Lovejoy	Nickel Plated, Fully Engraved	1997
Escape from LA	Bruce Campbell	Surgeon General of Beverly Hills	.	1996
Michael Collins	Brendan Gleeson	Liam Tobin	.	1996
Darkman III: Die Darkman Die	Jeff Fahey	Peter Rooker	Nickel Plated	1996
Darkman III: Die Darkman Die	Shawn Doyle	Adam	.	1996
Hudson Hawk	Carmine Zozzora	Antony Mario	.	1991
Hudson Hawk	Frank Stallone	Cesar Mario	.	1991
Darkman	Danny Hicks	Skip Altwater	.	1990
Miller's Crossing	John Turturro	Bernie Bernbaum	.	1990
Farewell To The King	Nick Nolte	Learoyd	.	1989
The Blob	Jack Rader	Colonel Templeton Hargis	.	1988
The Red Spectacles	.	Noodle-stand chef	.	1987
Brannigan	Mel Ferrer	Fields	.	1975
Shaft (1971)	Richard Roundtree	John Shaft		1971
The Omega Man	Charlton Heston	Colonel Robert Neville	.	1971
Targets (1968)	Tim O'Kelly	Bobby Thompson	.	1968
The Professionals	Lee Marvin	Henry 'Rico' Fardan	.	1966
The FBI Story	William Phipps	Baby Face Nelson	.	1959
They Were Expendable	Robert Montgomery	Lt. John Brickley	.	1945
Bataan	Robert Taylor	Sergeant Bill Dane	.	1943
Sahara	Humphrey Bogart	Sergeant Joe Gunn	.	1943
Casablanca	Humphrey Bogart	Rick Blaine	.	1942
The Boss of Big Town	John Miljan	Craige	.	1942
High Sierra	Humphrey Bogart	Roy "Mad Dog" Earle	.	1941
High Sierra	Barton MacLane	Jake Kranmer	.	1941
The Maltese Falcon	Mary Astor	Brigid O'Shaughnessy	.	1941
The Maltese Falcon	Humphrey Bogart	Sam Spade	.	1941
The Maltese Falcon	Elisha Cook Jr.	Wilmer Cook	.	1941
Sergeant York	Joe Sawyer	Sergeant Early	.	1941
Sergeant York	Pat Flaherty	Sergeant Harry Parsons		1941
Each Dawn I Die		State Guardsmen, Prisoner		1939
The Roaring Twenties	Joe Sawyer	The Sergeant		1939
The Roaring Twenties		Bootlegger		1939
A Slight Case of Murder	Joe Downing	Innocence		1938
Bulldog Drummond Escapes	P.J. Kelly	Stiles the Butler		1937
G Men	Robert Armstrong	Jeff McCord		1935
G Men	James Cagney	Brick Davis		1935
G Men	Barton MacLane	Collins		1935
G Men	Edward Pawley	Danny Leggett		1935
The Racketeer	Kit Guard	Gus		1929

Television

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
The A-Team		Various characters		1983-1988
Reilly: Ace of Spies	Barry Stokes	Commander Cromie	.455 Webley	1984

Anime

Title	Character	Note	Date
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai	Takano		2006
The Place Promised in Our Early Days	Okabe		2004

Video Game

Game Title	Appears as	Notation	Release Date
L.A. Noire	.	.	2011
Silent Storm	.	.	2003
The Sum Of All Fears	"M1911"		2002
Medal of Honor: Underground	.	.	2000
Mafia II	w/optional 32-round magazine	.	2010
Eternal Darkness	.	.	2001

M1911A1

Pre-War Colt M1911A1 Pistol Commercial - .45 ACP

World War II issued Colt M1911A1 Pistol - .45 ACP

Commercial Satin Nickel M1911A1 Pistol - .45 ACP. Manufactured on license by Remington Rand.

Colt M1911A1 Pistol that was bright nickel plated by the owner (with Pearl grips) - .45 ACP.

Nickel Plated M1911A1 Pistol with brown grips - .45 ACP

The U.S. military was re-issued the 1911 pistol in 1924, now designated the M1911A1. Changes to the gun included a larger ejection port, a shortened trigger, a longer grip-safety spur and slightly shaved hammer spur to prevent hammer bite, serrated front sight, a curved mainspring housing, simplified checkered grips (although diamond grips still appeared on some), and relief cuts around the trigger guard on the frame.

Note many in the list below could actually be Colt Mark IV Series 70/80 Government Models, Springfield Armory, or another manufacturer. Instead of a former military issued M1911A1, unless its a war film. Since the markings of the gun aren't always clear, M1911A1 is a catch-all term. Being most 1911 manufacturers pistols are based off the M1911A1 platform.