The Galleries
- Robert E. Petersen Collection
- Ancient Firearms
- The Road to American Liberty
- Seeds of Greatness
- The Prospering New Republic
- A Nation Asunder
- The American West
- Innovation, Oddities and Competition
- Theodore Roosevelt, Elegant Arms
- World War I and Firearms Innovation
- WWII, Korea, Vietnam and Beyond
- For the Fun of It
- Firearms Traditions for Today
- William B. Ruger Special Exhibits
- Freedom's Doorway
Beau Geste (1939)
Beau Geste (1939)
Used by film Extras
Springfield Model 1873 - .45-70 caliber
This "Trapdoor" Springfield undoubtedly saw not only service in
numerous films but on the western frontier as well. One of hundreds
of rifles rented to William "Wild Bill" Wellman's production of the
desert classic Beau Geste staring Gary Cooper, with
Brian Donlevy as the sadistic Sergeant Markoff at Fort Zinderneuf.
The Springfield trapdoor was the work horse of the film industry as
they were cheap, readily available and could be converted easily to
represent most any long arm from flintlocks to Civil War
muskets.
Loaned by Hollywood Guns and Props - Al Frisch