Was that A Smith & Wesson Model 29 .44 Magnum or a Model 19 .357? The scene where he dumps the empty cases on Angie D's character's table suggested .44 magnum as did the slo mo recoil scene of Walker shooting up the empty bed. Can't be sure and was wondering. Any thoughts???
shareI always assumed a .357 but if Boorman says .44 who am I to argue.
shareWhat I think is funny is what some person wrote in the trivia section, that:
Lee Marvin faked the recoil from the .44 Magnum when he shoots in Lynne's bed. These were in fact blanks, but afterward when shooting in Alcatraz they tried with real bullets and there was no recoil at all. Marvin said to director John Boorman, "Fiction overtakes reality".
Anyone who has ever fired a 44 magnum knows there is one hell of a lot of recoil.
Now maybe they fired a lighter round through the model 29, say a 44 special. Still, even that has a pretty stiff recoil.
-bump-
Aside from the commentary track, I remember reading about the "shooting the gun at Alcatraz" incident in an interview with Lee Marvin from the '70s (I believe), very likely in Rolling Stone magazine.
Does anyone else remember this?
Thanks.
Hey folks,
I also saw in the trivia section there was no recoil from real 44 Mag loads. SnarkyYarbles is absolutely correct about there being a really big recoil from 44 Mag cartridges. He is also correct about 44 Special loads providing really stiff recoil. A 357 Mag will make you hand jump even if you are using a heavy 6 inch barrel.
Lee Marvin was a WW2 combat veteran who was familiar with military weapons to also include the Colt 1911 45 Auto handgun. Even the big heavy 1911 produces a fair amount of recoil, although not as much as a 44 Mag. I would suspect Marvin probably had personal experience with modern handguns like the 44 Mag, and I would have my doubts about the experience supposedly related by director John Boorman stating Marvin was surprised to find real 44 Mag loads had no recoil. It just does not ring true to me.
When I saw him unload the cylinder in the girl's room early in the film, I thought the empty cases looked more like 357 Mags rather than 44 Mags, but I could not be sure. I also thought the frame of the pistol looked more like a 357 Mag frame, but again I could not be sure.
Whatever caliber he actually used, I can assure you both Magnum calibers do produce noticeably stiff recoil when fired. The 357 Mag will really bark, but the 44 Mag will bark a whole bunch more.
Best wishes,
Dave Wile
Hey Dave,
I agree with you totally. Having used both a .357 and a .44, I can testify to how much they "bark".
It's also interesting to note that Son of Sam used a .44, and he had a great deal of trouble with the neighbor's "barking" dog.