Some Like it Hot... Thompsons

[blume357]

So, I'm watching the movie Some Like it Hot and there is the Saint Valentines Day scene with Tony Curtis and Jack Lemon hiding behind a car as the gansters are mowing down their rivals with Thompsons and I saw something interesting...

Here's a picture of the Thompsons going off...



Then there is this one:



Seems the bolt did not fully close on that round.... I forget what this is exactly called.

 

[Jeepnik]

Firing out of battery. But, it was with blank ammo in a movie gun so who knows why. On the other side, dad swore by the Thompson. Refused to give it up when they tried to push the M-3 on the troops.

 

[Snake45]

That amount of flash coming out of a Thompson gun is ridiculous. You don't get anywhere near that flash from a 5" or even 4" handgun. Why would you get it from a barrel twice as long?

 

[coach]

Just a guess that without a bullet containing the gases the burning powder puts on a good light show. I wouldn’t be surprised if extra powder is needed to cycle the actions although I know the actions are modified to work without bullets.

 

[blume357]

My first handgun was a Colt Trooper and for some crazy reason I bought an 8" barrel for it from Sportsman's Guide. . when I finally got it installed with a shim that put the front sight in the right place the gap was about twice as much as is normal on a revolver... shooting that thing at night fire shot out of it horizontally about 2-3 feet on both sides of the cylinder..

I've always noticed in movies that those Thompsons light to throw fire like that.