Poor gun safety in older films - is it the actors or practices at the time?

[wakproductions]

I can't help but notice in many older films guns are handled incredibly dangerously. In many movies and TV shows, the actors often have their finger on the trigger most of the time or point the gun in unsafe directions. However, the problem doesn't seem to be as widespread in more recent films. Do you think the actors and directors from the 50s, 60s, or 70s were less familiar with firearms and safety and thus failed to incorporate them into cinema? Or have the general rules of firearm safety evolved and become more well known over time?


In The Creature from the Black Lagoon, all of the characters are completely reckless in where they point their rifles and harpoon guns. The actors frequently touch the trigger when no threat is present.

Neither Captain Kirk nor any of the planetary inhabitants who have firearms seem to know a thing about trigger safety....

Bruce Willis is a responsible gun handler. He is also a vocal proponent of gun rights.

 

[armedindy]

ive noticed it plenty in modern films as well....but good eye on the die hard photo...i guess i didnt notice their awareness..its good tho.....one thing i cant stand is when hollywood shows someone take the mag out of a gun and then hand it off saying "its safe"...NO IT PROBABLY ISNT, YOU DIDNT EVEN CHECK THE CHAMBER>>>SO MANY PPL GET THEIR INFO FROM HOLLYWOOD I CANT BELIEVE THEY ALLOW THEM TO SHOW SUCH DANGEROUS NON-SENSE

 

[billt]

They have a hard enough time talking about guns in movies, let alone handling them. Remember Bruce Willis's famous line about a Glock 17 being made of "Porcelain" in "Die Hard II"?

 

[DoggyDaddy]

They have a hard enough time talking about guns in movies, let alone handling them. Remember Bruce Willis's famous line about a Glock 17 being made of "Porcelain" in "Die Hard II"?

Porcelain?? Well, that explains why they are always exploding

 

[Sirshredalot]

They have a hard enough time talking about guns in movies, let alone handling them. Remember Bruce Willis's famous line about a Glock 17 being made of "Porcelain" in "Die Hard II"?

"glock 7"

God bless
-Shred

 

[04FXSTS]

One of the worst is "The Andy Griffin Show" there are so many "Barney Fife" moments that make us all shudder. One episode I saw recently had Andy telling Gomer to "take the shotgun out of your mouth." Jim.

 

[ghostdncr]

I think the rules have changed over the years, same as everything else. I've never seen a representation of a colonial-era rifleman using patrol carry or low prone, or an old west type shooting isosceles. While it may have happened, it just wasn't on anyone's radar back then as being the way things were done. The way we currently handle our weapons is the result of a long and painful evolution via trial and error down through the years. When I was a kid, almost no one used hearing protection when shooting. Nowadays, who doesn't?

Besides, what does Hollywood have to do with reality? In Hollywood you can make a movie that burns through 200,000 rounds of ammo and kills hundreds of innocent bystanders with indiscriminate fire. Day after the flick's premier, you can launch into an online diatribe demanding more gun control and half the country will take you seriously.

 

[pudly]

I think the rules have changed over the years, same as everything else. I've never seen a representation of a colonial-era rifleman using patrol carry or low prone, or an old west type shooting isosceles. While it may have happened, it just wasn't on anyone's radar back then as being the way things were done. The way we currently handle our weapons is the result of a long and painful evolution via trial and error down through the years. When I was a kid, almost no one used hearing protection when shooting. Nowadays, who doesn't?

Besides, what does Hollywood have to do with reality?

This.^ There are definite exceptions, but there is some movement towards better/safer firearm handling in movies. I believe that one of the biggest reasons for improved gun handling is the four rules of basic firearms safety. It was documented in "The Modern Technique of the Pistol" by Col. Jeff Cooper and Gregory Morrison in 1991.

Even with that, there still are plenty of fallacies presented around guns in the movies.

• Knocking targets off their feet.
• Infinite firing capacity.
• Shooting the gun/knife out of people's hands.
• Hundreds of rounds being fired at the good guy with with either no effect or at most a shoulder flesh wound.
• Common access to automatic/machine guns.
• Etc.

 

[wakproductions]

I believe that one of the biggest reasons for improved gun handling is the four rules of basic firearms safety. It was documented in "The Modern Technique of the Pistol" by Col. Jeff Cooper and Gregory Morrison in 1991.

Very interesting! I saw Monument's Men last week and all of the actors handled their firearms improperly - from holding their rifles at the hip to poor trigger discipline. However, I wondered if it was intentional acting because they were portraying characters who were academic scholars and not fully trained soldiers. The scene that got me thinking about the evolution of gun safety was where Matt Damon pushed open a door with his 1911 and had his finger on the trigger. Given he played characters like Jason Bourne I would think Matt Damon should know how to handle a firearm more adeptly. So it was probably a conscious decision in his portrayal of the character.

Does anybody know if the "finger off the trigger" safety rule was used in the service during WWII? Or did GI's have the habit of touching the trigger when handling their guns?

 

[pudly]

Given he played characters like Jason Bourne I would think Matt Damon should know how to handle a firearm more adeptly. So it was probably a conscious decision in his portrayal of the character.

Please re-read the comments about Hollywood being reality-deficient. I don't know how well Matt Damon is trained in firearms safety, but he is anti-gun as are too many gun-using actors.

I actually hate guns. They freak me out.

 

[88E30M50]

Maybe it's a bit of both. When I started shooting back in the '70s, there was no thought to hearing protection or eye protection when at the range. The closest we came to that was when a friend brought his .357 magnum shooting, he usually brought cotton balls to stick in his ears. Nobody around him had any hearing protection and we all went home with ears that rang into the next day.

Then, figure that most folks who have never been into guns have no idea of gun safety. They pick up a gun and automatically, their trigger finger goes into the trigger guard and they start waving the thing around. If an actor back then were given a gun, but had no gun experience and if they thought the gun to be unloaded, they would just grab it with the finger on the trigger and wave it all over the place trying to look like they knew what they were doing.

 

[printcraft]

Neither Captain Kirk nor any of the planetary inhabitants who have firearms seem to know a thing about trigger safety....

Well, technically, the gun Kirk had above couldn't have gone off even if it were loaded and he pulled the trigger............

 

[Zephri]

Remember robocop and the experimental mech they were showing off in the conference room? All our highly experimental equipment that may go berserk and kill us is loaded.....allll of it.

 

[pudly]

Remember robocop and the experimental mech they were showing off in the conference room? All our highly experimental equipment that may go berserk and kill us is loaded.....allll of it.

OMG! And the antis are pushing "smart" guns.

[video=youtube_share;mrXfh4hENKs]http://youtu.be/mrXfh4hENKs[/video]

 

[Butch627]

The film shot is not about safe gun handling, reality, or practicality. It is about what looks good on camera, and going on to the next shot. The armor or prop guy can coach the actor on how to hold it and not putting his finger on the trigger, but the actor does what he wants when the camera rolls, and the director has his own ideas on what he wants things to look like. The direction the gun is pointed has everything to do with camera angles and nothing to do about reality.

In some productions they make an attempt for realism, but in most they don't care. Its about entertainment for the masses being made by people who know or care little about firearms.

 

[indykid]

When it first came out, one of my favorite spoof type comedy shows was "Get Smart". Saw it in reruns recently and was appalled by the way handguns are held, finger on trigger and pointed at the face of anyone nearby. Horrible display of firearm "safety", or actually lack thereof.

 

[Captain Bligh]

I began following my dad around the woods in the 50's, and began shooting guns in the 60's. Hunting, fishing, and shooting targets occupied a lot of time in my immediate and extended family. Gun safety was frequently preached but the lessons that stick in my mind had nothing to do with "keep your finger off the trigger." I remember emphasis on:

• Keep your safety on until you are ready to shoot
• Make sure your gun is unloaded when not in use
• Make sure you know what is beyond your target and don't shoot at game if toward a house, barn, or road
• Don't cross a fence while holding your rifle or shotgun. Let your partner cross first and pass him/her the guns or if hunting solo, climb the fence and then reach back across to pick up and pull the gun across.
• Keep your muzzle pointed in a safe direction.

These were rifles and shotguns -- hunting guns -- not pistols. But keep your finger off the trigger and the four rules as we know them today? Not so much.

 

[Mark 1911]

Just consider the source. If it's Hollywood, it's all make believe, not reality. Take it with a (huge) grain of salt.

 

[throttletony]

I agree with the above - I think it's a bit of both (more) lax handling AND bad portrayal by generally untrained actors.
However, there certainly have always been adequately trained, safety-minded individuals. Perhaps my dad was squirming in his seat in the 60's or 70's seeing some of the poor gun handling back then on TV and in the movies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTCDd7StyWs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRhom3EEi40

Here's at least a couple actors speaking up and standing out for PRO 2A ideas.

 

[jcwit]

Been involved in the shooting sports for way over 50 years. In my early days there was no thought of keeping your finger off the trigger and straight along the guard. This was even in the military.

Times change, rules change, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worst.