Companeros (original title Vamos a matar, compañeros) is a 1970 Italian-German-Spanish spaghetti western directed by Sergio Corbucci and starring Franco Nero and Tomas Milian. The story takes place during the Mexican Revolution. Swedish arms dealer Yodlaf Peterson (Franco Nero) sells weapons to guerilla leader Gen. Mongo (José Bódalo), but the money that Mongo needs for the deal are locked in an indestructible bank safe. The only man who knows the combination is Prof. Xantos (Fernando Rey) who is held in prison in the American town of Yuma. Peterson volunteers to rescue Xantos and bring him to Mongo who orders one of his men, El Vasco (Tomas Milian), to escort Petersen. The events are even more complicated after the involvement of a group of Xantos' loyal followers ("Xantists"), lead by Lola (Iris Berben). Meanwhile, Petersen's old companion John (Jack Palance), turned bitter enemy, searches for him.
The following weapons were used in the film Companeros:
Single Action Army revolvers are used by numerous characters. Both "Artillery" and "Cavalry" models can be seen. The revolvers appear to be Italian-manufactured replicas, as in most Spaghetti Westerns.
During the encounter on the train, one of Xantists is armed with a revolver that looks mostly like a Smith & Wesson .44 Double Action or one of its numerous Spanish copies. The revolver has an unusual feature, a side-mounted ejector rod that is uncommon for top-break revolvers. This ejector rod may be purely a mockup, added to make the revolver look more "Western-style". In the final scene, El Vasco (Tomas Milian) also carries a similar revolver.
A compact nickel plated revolver is carried by Yodlaf Peterson (Franco Nero) in several scenes. It looks similar to a Colt New Pocket except for a more vertical front end of the frame; such simplification may be a sign of a Spanish produced version of a Colt revolver.
A Campo Giro pistol is another of Yodlaf Peterson's (Franco Nero) handguns. During the encounter on the train, it is taken from Peterson by a young Xantist.
During the scene on the train, Lola (Iris Berben) wields a pair of double barreled pistols. They appear to be large caliber smoothbore hunting pistols, some distant cousin of the Howdah Pistol.
Mexican government soldiers and some guerrillas are armed with 1893 Spanish Mauser rifles. In the scene in Yuma, US Army soldiers also are armed with M1893 rifles, standing in for proper M1903 Springfields.
John (Jack Palance) carries a Winchester Model 1200 or a Winchester Model 120 pump action shotgun. This gun only began being produced in 1964, but it may stand in for the similar looking (and more period-appropriate) Winchester Model 1912. Another decent version is a rare Model 1912 Featherweight which apparently was the basis for the subsequent M1200.
Several Maxim 1895 machine guns are seen in Peterson's boxcar. During the shootout on the road block, a Maxim on a tripod is seen; when Peterson takes it, it switches to a multi-barreled mitrailleuse (see below).
General Mongo's men attempt to break the safe using a Maxim that appears to be a mockup as it is operated in a very strange way. Later on in the climatic battle, Peterson takes the gun and uses it against Mongo's men. There is a possibility that this prop is made around a submachine gun, like the Star Z45, widely available in Spain.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingGuerrillas fire a Maxim in an attempt to open the safe.Error creating thumbnail: File missingLater in this scene, a mitrailleuse switches back to a Maxim. Here, Peterson tries to fix a malfunction.Error creating thumbnail: File missingPeterson in action in the climactic battle.Error creating thumbnail: File missingAnother view of the same scene. Note that protrusion at the bottom of the gun, just before the water jacket, that looks a lot like a 9mm submachine gun magazine. The side-mounted handle that Peterson holds may be in reality a lever linked to the trigger of the gun inside the Maxim shell.
Bergmann MG 15nA
A Bergmann MG 15nA machine gun is also seen in Peterson's boxcar.
An iconic Spaghetti Western gun, a multi-barreled, belt-fed mitrailleuse-style machine gun, appears in the scene at the road block. Yodlaf Peterson (Franco Nero) dismounts it from a tripod (in a previous moment, the gun is a Maxim machine gun) and mows down Mexican government soldiers. This movie prop looks very similar to the one seen in A Fistful of Dollars and different from the one held by Nero in Django.
