Thompson Submachine Gun

Note: The M1921 Thompson, the M1927 Thompson and the M1928 Thompson are nearly identical from a distance. The M1921 has a very fine high blued polish finish and has a very fast rate of fire (faster than an Uzi but slower than a MAC-10). The M1928 has a more matte blued finish (or a black paint finish) and it has a much slower rate of fire (like M3 Grease Gun). Since sound effects are so often 'foleyed' after the fact and since sound engineers can place the wrong sound effect for a gun, one can never be 100% sure of the fire rate of a weapon. However if the rate of fire seems fast or the gun is obviously a high polished blued finish, then the weapon should go into the M1921 Category, not the M1928.

The Thompson submachine gun, or "Tommy Gun", has appeared in the following films, television series, and video games used by the following actors:

Specifications

Type: Submachine Gun

Caliber: .45 ACP

Capacity: 20, 30 round box magazine, 50, 100 round Drum magazine

Fire Modes: Semi/FullAuto (600-1200 RPM)

M1921 Thompson

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Colt M1921A Thompson with 20-round magazine - .45 ACP

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Colt M1921A Thompson with 50-round drum magazine - .45 ACP

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Colt M1921AC Thompson with 20-round magazine - .45 ACP.

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Colt M1921AC Thompson with 50-round drum magazine - .45 ACP.

M1921AC Thompson with a horizontal fore grip - .45ACP

The M1921 is the original production version of the Thompson Submachine Gun, as manufactured by Colt Firearms in 1921. The M1921 is of the highest quality, fit, and along with a high polish blued finish, more like high grade sporting arm, than a military weapon. Standard features of the M1921 are the finned barrels, some sent with Cutts compensators, knurled lightweight bolt handles, Lyman Model 55B adjustable rear sights, push button detachable butt stocks, vertical fore grips and checkered fire control levers.

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
Inglorious Basterds		American soldier		2009
Public Enemies	Johnny Depp	John Dillinger	w/ 50-rd drum and 20-rd box magazines	2009
Watchmen	Unknown	Bank Robber	M1921AC w/ 50-rd drum	2009
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull	Ray Winstone	Mac	w/ M1928 Forend	2008
Mobsters			w/ 50-rd drum magazines	1991
Dick Tracy				1990
Moonwalker				1988
The Untouchables			w/ 50-rd drum magazines	1987
Romancing the Stone				1984
Dillinger				1973
The FBI Story			w/ 50-rd drum and 30-rd box magazines	1959
Sahara	Humphrey Bogart	Sgt. Joe Gunn		1943
Sahara	Rex Ingram	Sgt. Major Tambul	w/ 50-rd drum magazine	1943
Sahara	Bruce Bennett	Waco Hoyt		1943
The Story of G.I. Joe	Freddie Steele	Sgt. Steve Warnicki		1945
They Were Expendable			With 1928 Forend	1945
Bataan				1943
Each Dawn I Die		Prison Guard	w/ 50-rd drum magazine	1939
Angels With Dirty Faces		Police officers	w/ 50-rd drum magazines	1938
San Quentin		Prison Guard	w/ 50-rd drum magazine	1937
Bullets or Ballots		Police Officers	w/ 50-rd drum magazines	1936
G Men	James Cagney	Brick Davis	w/ 50-rd drum magazine	1935
G Men	Robert Armstrong	Jeff McCord	w/ 50-rd drum magazine	1935
Scarface		Police		1934
Scarface		Gangsters		1934
Little Caesar			w/ 50-rd drum magazines	1931

Television

Show Title / Episode	Actor	Character	Notes	Air Date
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles	Todd Stashwick	Myron Stark / T-888		2008 - 2009
The Untouchables				1993 - 1994
Dads Army				1968 - 1977
Reilly: Ace of Spies	Sam Neill	Reilly		1983
The Untouchables				1959 - 1963

Video Games

Game Title	Appears as	Mods	Release Date
Bioshock	Machine Gun	With 40-round drum magazine	2007
Medal of Honor: Airborne		"Upgrade" from M1A1 Thompson, with 50-rd drum	2007
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth			2005
Contract J.A.C.K.	M1921-A1		2003
Silent Storm		With 50-round drum magazine	2003
No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy In HARM's Way	M1921-A1	With 50-round drum magazine	2002

Animation

Film/TV Show	Actor	Character	Note	Date
Who Framed Roger Rabbit	June Foray	Wheezy		1988

M1927 Thompson

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M1927 Thompson Auto-Ordnance with 50-round drum magazine.

M1928/M1928A1 Thompson

The Model 1928 was more of an modified version rather than an upgrade. They are visually the same as the M1921 except they were outfitted with heavy actuators and smaller less powerful recoil springs to reduce the rate of fire. The earliest of these were converted M1921 Thompson receivers that were merely re-stamped "1928" over the original markings (hence the terminology "overstamp"). The M1928A1 was the military contract version of this weapon in 1928. It had a more crude military grade blued finish, a heavier actuator and the vertical foregrip was replaced with a horizontal handguard.

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M1928 "Tommy Gun" .45 ACP with 50-round drum magazine, made famous through countless classic gangster movies

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M1928A1 Thompson with 30-round magazine and early 'simplified' rear sight that would be adopted for the M1 Thompson - .45 ACP

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M1928A1 Thompson with 50-round drum magazine - .45 ACP

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian		Mobsters		2009
Public Enemies			M1928A1	2009
Guerrilla	Santiago Cabrera	Camilo Cienfuegos		2008
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull		Soviet soldiers	M1928A1	2008
Miracle at St. Anna	Derek Luke	Staff Sgt. Aubrey Stamps	M1928A1	2008
Miracle at St. Anna	Michael Ealy	Sgt. Bishop Cummings	M1928A1	2008
Miracle at St. Anna	Laz Alonzo	Cpl. Hector Negron	M1928A1	2008
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor	Brendan Fraser	Rick O'Connell	w/ 20-rd box and 50-rd drum magazines	2008
Assault on Precinct 13			w/ 50-rd drum magazine	2005
King Kong		S.S. Venture crew	w/ 50-rd drum magazines	2005
King Kong	Jack Black	Carl Denham	w/ 50-rd drum magazine	2005
King Kong	Kyle Chandler	Bruce Baxter	w/ 50-rd drum magazine	2005
King Kong	Thomas Kretschmann	Captain Englehorn	w/ 50-rd drum magazine	2005
King Kong	Evan Parke	Ben Hayes	w/ 50-rd drum magazine	2005
The Matrix Reloaded		Henchman	w/ 50-rd drum magazine	2003
Road to Perdition	Tom Hanks	Michael Sullivan		2002
Road to Perdition		Mobsters		2002
The Mummy Returns	Oded Fehr	Ardeth Bay	w/ 50-rd drum magazine	2001
Pearl Harbor		U.S. military personnel	w/ 50-rd drum and 30-rd box magazines	2001
Last Man Standing	Christopher Walken	Hickey		1996
Star Trek: First Contact	Patrick Stewart	Captain Jean-Luc Picard	w/ 50-rd drum magazine	1996
Blown Away		IRA terrorists	M1928A1	1994
The Shadow	Tim Curry	Farley Claymore	M1928A1	1994
The Rocketeer		FBI Special Agents		1991
The Rocketeer		Gangsters		1991
Home Alone		Johnny	w/ 50-rd drum magazine	1990
Miller's Crossing			w/ 50-rd drum magazines	1990
The Untouchables		Mobsters		1987
The Untouchables		Police		1987
The Untouchables		Federal Agents		1987
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom	Ric Young	Kao Kan	w/ 50-rd drum magazine	1984
The Big Red One			M1928A1	1980
Dawn of the Dead	Larry Vaira	Biker	w/ 50-rd drum and 30-rd box magazines	1978
The Inglorious Bastards	Bo Svenson	Lt. Robert Yeager		1978
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia		Gangsters		1974
Too Late the Hero	Michael Caine	Pvt. Tosh Hearne	M1928A1	1970
Too Late the Hero	Ian Benn	Pvt. Jock Thornton	M1928A1	1970
The Godfather		Barzini hitmen	w/ 50-rd drum magazines	1972
Patton		U.S. Army soldiers	M1928A1	1970
The Bridge at Remagen			M1928A1	1969
The Devil's Brigade	William Holden	Col. Robert T. Frederick	M1928A1	1968
The Devil's Brigade	Cliff Robertson	Major Alan Crown	M1928A1	1968
The Devil's Brigade		U.S. Army soldiers	M1928A1	1968
Bonnie and Clyde	Warren Beatty	Clyde Barrow	w/ 50-rd drum magazine	1967
Bonnie and Clyde	Faye Dunaway	Bonnie Parker	w/ 50-rd drum magazine	1967
Jet Pilot		U.S. Air Force personnel	M1928A1	1957
To Hell and Back	Audie Murphy	Himself	M1928A1	1955
Them!		Police		1954
Them!		Soldiers		1954
The Enforcer				1951
A Walk In The Sun		Police Officer	M1928A1	1948
The Story of G.I. Joe	Robert Mitchum	Lt. Bill Walker	M1928A1	1945
A Walk In The Sun			M1928A1	1945

Television

Show Title / Episode	Actor	Character	Note	Air Date
Charmed / Charmed Noir		1930's Gangsters	w/ 50-rd drum magazines	1998 - 2004
Star Trek: Voyager / The Killing Game	Tim Russ	Tuvok	M1928A1	1995 - 2001
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman / That Old Gang of Mine		Gangsters	w/ 50-rd drum magazine	1993 - 1997
Star Trek: The Next Generation / Manhunt		Holographic gangster		1987 - 1994
Star Trek / A Piece of the Action	William Shatner	Captain James T. Kirk	w/ 50-rd drum magazines	1966 - 1969
Star Trek / A Piece of the Action	Leonard Nimoy	Lt. Spock	w/ 50-rd drum magazines	1966 - 1969
Star Trek / A Piece of the Action	DeForest Kelley	Dr. Leonard H. McCoy	w/ 50-rd drum magazines	1966 - 1969
Star Trek / A Piece of the Action		Sigma Iotia II natives	w/ 50-rd drum magazines	1966 - 1969
Combat!		U.S. Army soldiers	M1928A1	1962 - 1967

Video Games

Game Title	Appears as	Mods	Release Date
Call of Duty: World at War		M1928A1, box art only	2008
Call of Duty: World at War: Final Fronts		M1928A1, box art only	2008
Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven		With 50-round drum magazine
Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault		With 30-round box and 50-round drum magazine	2004
Medal of Honor: Vanguard			2007
Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie		With 50-round drum magazine	2005
Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb			2003
Timesplitters 2	Tommy Gun		2002
Turning Point: Fall of Liberty		M1928A1	2008
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway			2008
Call of Duty: United Offensive		M1928A1, box art only	2004
Blood			1997
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater	Tommy gun	With 50-round drum and apparently formed out of bees	2004
Timesplitters	Tommy Gun		2000

Animation

• The Adventures of Tintin

M1 Thompson

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M1 Thompson with 30-round magainze - .45 ACP

The M1/M1A1 were versions of the M1928A1 Thompson that were streamlined and simplified for manufacture during World War 2. Features include a non-finned barrel, simple fixed "L" style sights, no Cutts Compensators, and no knurling on actuators, or fire select levers. Also there are examples that were parkerized rather than blued that ended up in the hands of U.S. Soldiers.

The older style M1 Thompson had simple rear peep sights and a slightly more complex bolt design, which was simplified with the M1A1 Thompson and the sights were improved as the "L type" was prone to bend if the weapon was dropped or dig into the Soldier when in cramped conditions. It must be noted the M1/M1A1 Thompson's are not compatable with the 50/70 round drum magazines used on the M1921/M1928A1 models.

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
Hot Fuzz			Seen in evidence room	2007
Reign of Fire		British Refugee		2002
Magnum Force		Thug		1973
Kelly's Heroes	Clint Eastwood	Pvt. Kelly		1970
Kelly's Heroes	Telly Savalas	Master Sgt. Big Joe		1970
Kelly's Heroes	Don Rickles	Staff Sgt. Crapgame		1970
The Longest Day		Allied soldiers		1963

Video Games

Game Title	Mods	Passwords	Release Date
Silent Storm	With 20-round magazine		2003

M1A1 Thompson

Basically the same as the M1 but with a few more improvements such as the noted rear sight guard.

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M1A1 Thompson with 30-round magazine .45 ACP

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
Band of Brothers		U.S. Army soldiers		2001
Saving Private Ryan	Tom Hanks	Captain John H. Miller		1998
Saving Private Ryan	Ted Danson	Captain Fred Hamill		1998
Forrest Gump	Gary Sinise	One of Lt. Dan Taylor's ancestors		1994
Aliens			Mocked up as M41A Plse Rifles	1986
Diamonds Are Forever		CIA Agents		1971
The Omega Man	Paul Koslo	Dutch		1971
Kelly's Heroes	Clint Eastwood	Pvt. Kelly		1970
Kelly's Heroes	Telly Savalas	Master Sgt. Big Joe		1970
Kelly's Heroes	Don Rickles	Staff Sgt. Crapgame		1970
Pretty Boy Floyd			w/ vertical foregrips & fake Cutts comps	1960
A Walk in the Sun				1945

Television

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
Mail Call		Re-enactor

Video Games

Game Title	Appears as	Mods	Notes	Release Date
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway				2008
Call of Duty: World at War		Aperture Sight, Suppressor, 40-round Drum Magazine		2008
Call of Duty: World at War: Final Fronts		With 20-round box magazine		2008
Call of Duty 3				2006
Medal of Honor: Heroes				2006
Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30				2005, 2008
Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood				2005
Call of Duty 2				2005
Call of Duty 2: Big Red One				2005
Resident Evil 4	Chicago Typewriter	w/ 50-rd drum magazine	Mafia costume required	2005
Call of Duty: Finest Hour				2004
Call of Duty: United Offensive				2004
Call of Duty				2003
Hour of Victory		With 30-round magazine		2007
Medal of Honor: Rising Sun				2003
Medal of Honor: Infiltrator				2003
Battlefield: 1942				2002
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault				2002
Medal of Honor: Frontline				2002
Vietcong				2003

Animation

Movie/TV Show	Actor	Character	Note	Date
The Brak Show	C. Martin Croker	Zorak		2000