Talk:Once Upon A Time In America

Moved from main page. --Predator20 12:02, 12 November 2010 (UTC)

M1911A1

Philip "Cockeye" Stein (William Forsythe) uses a M1911A1 to shoot up Joe's car after the diamond heist.

The bore aperture looks way too small to be a .45 ACP pistol, the barrel is more likely a 9mm/.357 bore as opposed to the large and usually noticeable 11.6mm/.451 bore. While there were various 1911/1911A1 style pistols chambered in 9x19mm, this film-or part rather-took place in 1933 and any gunman who is even vaguely familiar with the weapons of the era beyond what he has seen in movies knows that in 1933, among the gangsters, mob hitmen, bank robbery boys, road bandits and even some of the flashier and saltier G-Men; THE gun to have was the new (widespread US release in 1929) Colt .38 Super Government Model. The Colt 1911 in .38 Super was praised for its abilities at the time, which even now are better than most handguns; the Colt .38 super fired a high velocity round, commonly 130 grain FMJ @ 1,400 FPS(+/- 50 FPS) which was able to punch through automobile doors and body panels as well the body armor that was getting very popular for bandits and lawmen alike (which would stop most rounds under 1,000 FPS-like the common .38 and .32 caliber revolvers or semi-autos in .380 ACP, .32 ACP and even the big .45 ACP). In addition to the flat-shooting, high velocity, shock inducing, highly effective properties of the round itself, there is also the benefit of not only the high quality 1911 body, functions and handling characteristics but also a 9 round magazine (as opposed to the 7 round magazine the .45 ACP round allows because out it's large diameter) and a reduction in felt/perceived recoil due to the firing of a bullet with around half the mass-in compairison to the larger .45 ACP caliber 1911. As a result the gun was THE hot item until around 1935 when it was eclipsed slightly in performace by the .357 Magnum which was freshly released by Smith and Wesson as a revolver cartridge, although many preferred the .38 super because of it aboutility to function reliably in semi-automatics.

The bore doesn't look to be a .45. While a 38 Super would fit the time period. It would be chambered in 9mm for the film. I don't think you'll find many 38 Super blanks. It being an early 80s film, could it be a Star Model B? The only way to tell the difference is the lack of grip safety and external extractor. None of which you can see in the screencap. Nice history lesson on the 38 Super too.--Predator20 14:46, 12 November 2010 (UTC)

M1911A1 - .45 ACP.

Cockeye fires his 1911 at Joe's car.

Tommy Gun

It seems to me that Thompson actually a M1928A1, equipped with a vertical foregrip, since he has a smooth barrel and "simplified" L-style rear sight. --Slon95 (talk) 18:31, 8 May 2016 (EDT)