Movie studio marked guns

[BradW]

I recently read an article by Phil Spangenberger (True West Magazine) about movie studio marked guns and am asking here because I've seen an MGM marked Trapdoor and wondered if the value is any more or less with all things being equal? I'm sure there were plenty of "Cowboy" guns marked with studio property markings but haven't seen any other than the one Trapdoor. Anyone have one or seen any? Thank you.

[Dick Hosmer]

Speaking for myself, a studio stamping would absolutely be a deal-killing flaw, period. Price would be immaterial - wouldn't buy one at any price.

[lyman]

Speaking for myself, a studio stamping would absolutely be a deal-killing flaw, period. Price would be immaterial - wouldn't buy one at any price.

I agree,

however if a property record or ledger from said company said that Trapdoor 123 was used by (insert famous actor here) in the movie (insert big time movie name here) someone out there would pay a premium,

[JimF]

No way would I buy one. . . .

Ever see Richard Boone’s SAA from “Have Gun Will Travel”?

[Allen]

This is a little off-topic but years ago I purchased an M1A1 carbine movie gun from a seller on ebay. The seller claimed it looked real. I figured maybe a few parts would interchange and perhaps the gun was made with a few actual real parts.

It wasn't photo'ed very well but the seller had good feedback so I took a chance.

When it arrived it looked like something a kid would build out of stuff found in the yard or shed. One side of the stock was badly broken (not photographed) and the rest was made of pinned, welded or riveted metal pieces to resemble an M1A1 from a distance.

It was stamped WB, supposively for Warner Bros.

Due to the broken stock and other aspects being represented untruthfully I returned the item.

[BradW]

I was just curious, the one I saw appeared correct and in average condition other than the MGM marking and some other number stamped on it, just another part of the guns history, Apparently MGM sold off their stock of props back in 1970 so some must be floating around. I did see a few movie stars guns at the Cody museum a few years ago, interesting but not really my thing.

[Tom Doniphon]

I've seen dozens of movie prop house marked guns. In fact, years ago I was able to tour the Stembridge Gun Rental business who furnished firearms to the movie and television industry for decades, and I was able to see Tom Mix's Colt SAA, the water cooled machine gun from The Wild Bunch, the GE Gatling gun used in Predator and in Termination 2, and the Lewis machine gun from the 1930s film King Kong. Most prop houses marked their firearms with the name or initials of the company. I have seen 20th Century Fox guns marked "FOX", Stembridge firearms marked with an "S", Ellis Mercantile prop house guns marked with an "E", Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer guns marked "MGM", Warner Bros. guns with a "WB", and Universal Studios guns marked with a "U" over a "P".

[lyman]

I picked up an estate years ago that had a handful of flint locks pistols and one musket,
supposedly used sometime long ago in a pirate movie

sold the pistols off , they were not marked, but looked about a step above a cheap toy you would by at some historical fort's gift shop,
the musket turned out to be a real Seargant's Fusil from ~1828-1830 based on a Brown Bess,,

kept that one,


I have a customer that is in the business here on the east coast,

he told me they (the prop house) will but a nice original example for the closeups with the lead characther(s),
and buy a beater,

they use the beater to make a mold(s) for pouring resin copies that they paint and hand out to the folks in the background,

he told me the mold making process will tear up a rifle or handgun, so they only buy beaters

[Allen]

For a while sellers were selling resin prop Garands and Carbines from "Saving Private Ryan" and the "Band of Brothers" escapades.

They were painted to look as much like a real gun as possible with the wood painted redish brown and the gas cylinder on the Garands silver with the rest of the metal near black. Up close they looked very crude, something you could have imagined Fred Flintstone made.

Most of those resin rifles sold on line had warped barrels too.

[lyman]

the Thompson that Tom Hanks used, now deactivated, is for sale in the UK