Pretty Boy Floyd was one of many shoestring-budget gangster films made in the late 1950s and early 1960s, starring a number of unknown actors, some of whom (in this case Barry Newman, Al Lewis, and Peter Falk) went on to be relatively famous. Although taking many historical liberties (such as renaming most of the people involved), it is a generally accurate depiction of the life of 1930s bank robber Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd.
The following firearms can be seen in the film Pretty Boy Floyd:
Jed Watkins (Roy Fant) can be seen with a Mannlicher M1895 No. 1 Carbine when Floyd returns home for the first time in six years. It is one of the guns later donated to Floyd.
Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd (John Ericson) uses a Colt New Service when he shoots his neighbor Grindon to avenge his father's murder. The sheriff, Blackie Faulkner (Jason Evers) also carries a New Service.
"Pretty Boy" Floyd (John Ericson) typically brandishes a set of Colt Detective Special revolvers (unlike the actual Floyd who always carried two M1911A1s). Shorty Walters (Peter Falk) also uses two Colt Detective Specials during the Ohio bank robbery. The Kansas City mob bosses use a Detective Special when determining the fate of Floyd, Al, and Manny.
In addition to a Detective Special, "Pretty Boy" Floyd (John Ericson) hides a Smith & Wesson Model 36 under his pillow in Ohio. The police grab it from him before he gets a chance to use it. (This gun would be anachronistic for the film as it wasn't developed until 1950).
"Pretty Boy" Floyd (John Ericson) carries two Colt Official Police revolvers during his first bank robbery in Sylvan, Ohio with Shorty and when he robs his hometown bank in Sallisaw. One of them has a sawn-down barrel, as evident by its lack of a front sight.
"Pretty Boy" Floyd (John Ericson) shows Curly Winwell (Carl York) a Carl Gustav M/45 submachine gun he got from "the big city". This is a complete anachronism, since the Carl Gustav Swedish Submachine Gun was not developed until 1945, a full 12 years after the events portrayed in the film. Also historically the gang stole much of their firepower from local police armories, so any submachine gun would be a domestic model, like a Thompson.
"Pretty Boy" Floyd (John Ericson) fires a M1A1 Thompson during one of the film's montages. Al Riccardo (Barry Newman) takes one when he tries to run away from Floyd in the end. The lawman that shoots Floyd down uses a Thompson. The M1A1 has a Cutts compensator and, in some scenes, has a vertical foregrip added to make it match the more period-accurate M1928 (as the M1A1 is anachronistic).
Having given his Mannlicher to Floyd earlier, Jed Watkins (Roy Fant) holds a Carcano M91/38 on "Pretty Boy" Floyd when the latter comes to him for help after the Kansas City Massacre.
