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Vic Morrows Thompson On "combat"


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I've been watching Combat on the Action channel on cable and got really hooked. They have been showing the episodes in order and just got into the last color season. I was so into it I found the Fan site on the web and they had some interesting things there. One of the guys who was working with props answered a question regarding the weapons used in the show. He stated that they were all real and converted to fire blanks. He said they all worked well with the blanks except that Morrow's Thompson gave them a little trouble. After reading this I started watching the sarg when he was firing his Thompson. Sure enough, you see him in several scenes manaully pulling back the bolt after firing short bursts. I also noticed he would look down and check the bolt location quite often. Another interesting thing is that Rick Jason who played Lt. Henley was into guns and hunting and could not get Morrow to join him. He said Morrow didn't like guns. I also noticed that the BAR didn't sound right in the first couple seasons, to fast. But in the last it slowed down. Perhaps the sound editors speeded it up to make it more impressive.
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That website is really interesting. The third complete season has just been released on DVD--the first two seasons were released last year and the fourth season is set to come along in August. I have the first two seasons now and my girlfriend is getting me the third one later this month for my birthday.
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Here is picture of the blank firing gun from Season 4. Notice the phony compensator that hides the restrictor for firing blanks. Many of us on the list got our interest in Thompsons from watching Combat in the early sixties.

 

http://members.aol.com/gijive/VicMorrow.jpg

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Vic used a 1921AC serial #8245 for the live firing scenes, refitted with a crossbolt buttstock (the one shown inthe pic that GI Jive posted, thanks Chuck! it was one of the MGM guns. I don't know where that gun is these days. You'll see that gun in other TV shows and movies of the 1960's, and before. There were 4 Thompsons at MGM; 2-21's, 2'28A1's.

 

I recall one episode where Vic was pinned underneath a wooden beam, and had to shoot out a German radio on a table. The gun jammed; he gave it the old sharp flick to the right and the bad blank flew outta there; he shot again and it worked. Funny they left that one in. I remember seeing him struggle with the actuator more than a few times over the years.

 

And yes, he told Rick Jason (when Rick wanted Vic to come with him to shoot skeet after filming one day) "Naw, I can't stand killing clay".

 

Great stuff...

 

Ron

 

 

 

 

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GI Jive, great pic of Morrow and probably pretty rare and I'm certain not approved for release by ABC or Paramount as it shows a close up of Vic's deformed right index finger which was a birth defect , usually every effort was made to hide this during filming. I loved this show when I was a kid and it's great to see these episodes 40 years later. This was also the begining of my interest in the Thompson and I had the Marx toy model Thompson which had a side cock actuator which ratcheded off a nice full auto type appearance....damn I loved that gun. But bigger boys have bigger toys and now I have the real McCoy! Caje, take the point! http://www.machinegunbooks.com/forums/invboard1_1_2/upload/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif

 

Mike Hammer

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I too had a Marx Thompson, but mine was equipped with a night vision scope! Try finding a pic ot one of those in Triacie's or Roger's books. It must have been one of the OSS versions. I remebber paying about $4.00 using money my visiting uncle from England gave me.
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i remember being at earl's in 1971 when he showed me that gun.it was in bad shape!! so i ended up year's later getting the other m.g.m. gun from him,he had two 1921ac's.........that model was in the big house,bataan,never so few,and a host of other pic's..... it now sit's in a personal friends collection...

 

at the time i could have snapped it up from earl for $2,500.00 with alot of extra's thrown in....... good time's...and i am sure the gun will resurface someday......they also used the one i had purchased on the serie's also. and one of the prop guy's now deceased. mentioned they would change sight's and barrel's,and wood. a common practice then....

 

some good movie history with that stuff............

 

shssh!!! hardred would not want me to post anymore.....

and i laugh.

 

take care, ron

 

p.s.hey ron good to see you posting again...

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One of these days when nobody has come up with an idea for our monthly match I'm

going to make it a Sgt. Saunders Shoot. Everything shot from the hip and only

one extra magazine tucked inside the shooters jacket. http://www.machinegunbooks.com/forums/invboard1_1_2/upload/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif

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But where are you gonna get the 80 round size XXX mags??? http://www.machinegunbooks.com/forums/invboard1_1_2/upload/html/emoticons/blink.gif

 

 

http://www.machinegunbooks.com/forums/invboard1_1_2/upload/html/emoticons/laugh.gif http://www.machinegunbooks.com/forums/invboard1_1_2/upload/html/emoticons/laugh.gif

 

Seriously... speaking of that.. I noticed in the DVD and also in that pic.. that mag looks awful fat. It seems to be flush with the sides of the receiver...and a regular XXX mag doesn't do that.

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QUOTE (Hawkeye_Joe @ Apr 9 2005, 09:55 AM)
Seriously... speaking of that.. I noticed in the DVD and also in that pic.. that mag looks awful fat.  It seems to be flush with the sides of the receiver...and a regular XXX mag doesn't do that.

Hawkeye Joe,

 

It is a regular thirty round magazine. I have several other pictures and angles from this photo shoot sequence and the magazine is a normal XXX. It is probably just the lighting and angle of the photo I posted. The rib on the back wouldn't fit into the slot in the grip frame and the magazine wouldn't feed right if the dimensions were different from the original magazines. I also have several of the Stembridge blanks that they used in movies and television during that time period. They fit in the regular magazines just fine.

 

I'll post some additional pictures when I get time.

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