Mike Hammer Posted June 12, 2013 Report Share Posted June 12, 2013 Perhaps in no other film about WWII has the Greasegun had more screen time than in 1962's "Hell is For Heroes" Starring Steve McQueen. McQueen,(or his charactor in the film, the doomed "Reese") plays, fondles, takes apart, fiddles with the cover safety, tapes magazines, shoots it sideways and does just about everything he can think of to draw attention to it. McQueen was known for his affection for guns and in his films he would often do some "scene stealing" by doing anything he could think of just to keep your eyes riveted on him, he certainly does just that in this film. I would have liked to see more scenes will James Coburn's charactor burning up the Krauts with his flamethrower. Still a must see for any WWII or M3 afficionado. Note the interesting blank adaptor on this gun. Mike Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmagee1917 Posted June 12, 2013 Report Share Posted June 12, 2013 Although this is an earlier M3 greasegun , I always thought the tip of the bbl. was just de-parked by a flash hider that was removed for the movie . Are you sure it's part of a blank firing set up ?Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Hammer Posted June 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2013 The flashider is only an accessory to the bbl and it is secured to the existing parkerized bbl with just a srew clamp so there could be no bare metal showing when it was removed. Mentioning a flash hider, I believe the flash hider was not available till just after the close of WWII, so they were correct in not showing one in this film. They did have a top adviser on this film, the same fellow who oversaw the "Combat" series which started later the same year. Mike Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkeye_Joe Posted June 12, 2013 Report Share Posted June 12, 2013 While you are correct about how often Steve showed off his Grease gun. (Also how many times it failed and he had to re-cock it) I think that the movie where the Grease gun was shown more than this one was "The Dirty Dozen". They even has the silver tips on the barrel: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_RpqXqo6GM7s/TAwsbIEZHBI/AAAAAAAABDI/PyOxVg9aO5I/s1600/The+Dirty+Dozen+1.jpg He even taped mags together. http://theroadshowversion.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/capture.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Hammer Posted June 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2013 Right on, DD did have some nice GG scenes in them. McQueen's gun was carried or shown with him in nearly every scene and I guess that's what I was thinking. Both are pretty good movies. Some years ago Ernie Borgnine was kind enough to sign my film poster from DD, really a nice guy, sad to think that only a few actors from that film are still with us. I would like Hollywood to make some more decent WWII films, there is no shortage of possible story material, perhaps just a shortage of talented writers and actors. Mike Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmagee1917 Posted June 13, 2013 Report Share Posted June 13, 2013 Well , I have a M3 and a M3A1 , and the spare bbls that have worn a flash hider can be spotted. While it does just clamp on , it must move around a bit during firing and it leaves that telltail ring.Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Hammer Posted June 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2013 Chris: Didn't mean to have this thread turn into a technical analysis but there you are. Here is a close-up of McQueen's gun with the Blank Adaptor attached. Please remember that ANY movie gun that's going to actually be made to fire must have a blank adaptor installed, so all these guns do in fact have an adaptor on them. As you can see from two different movies, both had the same type of blank adaptors installed. The original bbl is thredded on the inside and the adaptor is screwed onto the bbl. The adaptor has a reduced opening inside that restricts the outflow of air to cause enough backpressure to cycle the gun. The close-up pictures show the clean line which dilinates where the adaptor screws into and meets the bbl, note that the adaptor has a polished silver finish even to the muzzle tip, this type of finish could not have occured from the wear from attaching a flash hider as the clamp attachment seats much lower on the bbl. Also, the bbl. is probably around an inch longer with the adaptor attached, and the photos reveal that fact. All this talk about GG's, I just think that I'll pull out my DVD of Dirty Dozen tonight and let er rip. Mike Hammer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoscoeTurner Posted June 14, 2013 Report Share Posted June 14, 2013 The one scene I found of interest for its realism in "Hell is For Heroes" is in the beginning when it shows Reese field stripping his M3. Seeing a soldier in a movie do that is something you rarely see in movies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmagee1917 Posted June 17, 2013 Report Share Posted June 17, 2013 Mike , always good to learn something new. Now I have to wonder why they didn't darken them up ?Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkeye_Joe Posted June 18, 2013 Report Share Posted June 18, 2013 If you want to see GI's handling guns as they would have watch "Eight Iron Men". Lee Marvin coached the other actors on how o handle their weapons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Hammer Posted June 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2013 (edited) Roscoe, another great film where you can see someone stripping/cleaning a smg is "Where Eagles Dare". Clint Eastwood is shown cleaning an MP40. I can watch that one over and over. Seen it so many times I can just about do the dialog, great stuff! A couple cast members signed photos for me back in the day. I love the inscription that Ingrid added, "All my love Mike , your faithful serving wench" god I loved her, I would have liked to strip and clean her! O.K.,So go watch the film! Mike Hammer Edited March 5, 2023 by Mike Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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