Bonnot's Gang (La bande à Bonnot)Bonnot's Gang (La bande à Bonnot) - Internet Movie Firearms Database - Guns in Movies, TV and Video GamesBonnot's Gang (La bande à Bonnot)
Bonnot's Gang (La bande à Bonnot) is a 1968 French-Italian historical crime film directed by Philippe Fourastié. It depicts the story of the infamous Bonnot's Gang, a French criminal anarchist group that committed a number of robberies in France and Belgium in 1911-1912.
The following weapons were used in the film Bonnot's Gang (La bande à Bonnot):
When Jules Bonnot (Bruno Cremer) meets with Raymond, Carouy and Soudy, who tries to steal his suitcase, he draws a snub nose revolver that resembles an anachronistic Smith & Wesson Model 10HB. Octave Garnier (Jean-Pierre Kalfon) holds a similar revolver, among other weapons, during the final shootout. Police detectives also use similar guns in several scenes. Only a single gun is seen at a time so it is probably a single prop being reused. Judging by the shape of the front sight that differs from a Model 10, the revolver may be a Ruby Extra, a Llama produced variant of Model 10.
St. Etienne Mle 1892 revolvers are used by Jules Bonnot (Bruno Cremer) and Octave Garnier (Jean-Pierre Kalfon) in several scenes, notably during the final shootout. Police personnel, both plainclothes and uniformed, also use Mle 1892 revolvers.
During the robbery of a collection clerk, Raymond la Science (Jacques Brel) is armed with a nickel-plated revolver. It resembles Mle 1892 but seems to be rather compact.
A favoured handgun of Jules Bonnot (Bruno Cremer) is an FN Model 1903 pistol. Édouard Carouy (François Dyrek) holds an FN 1903 during the first robbery committed by the gang.
In several scenes, Raymond la Science (Jacques Brel) holds a nickel plated, engraved FN Model 1910 pistol with pearl grips. The pistol is also briefly held by Maria la Belge (Annie Girardot).
In various scenes, anachronistic FN Model 1922 pistols are used by nearly all members of the gang - Jules Bonnot (Bruno Cremer), Raymond la Science (Jacques Brel), Octave Garnier (Jean-Pierre Kalfon), and Édouard Carouy (François Dyrek). Raymond also holds a nickel plated FN 1922 with pearl grips when he fires at a policeman who stopped the gang's car. Louis Jouin (Armand Mestral), the vice-chief of the Sûreté (French criminal police) who is in charge of the hunt for the gang, as well as a number of his subordinates also use FN Model 1922 pistols.
In several scenes, police detectives carry pistols that appear to be anachronistic Ruby Pistols. Only a single such gun is seen at a time, so probably a single prop is reused. Possibly the same pistol is used by Octave Garnier (Jean-Pierre Kalfon) during the bank robbery in Chantilly although it is seen unclearly.
During the robbery of a gun store, Bonnot obtains a Winchester Model 1897 shotgun in Trench Gun configuration, a configuration which didn't exist yet in pre-WWI years. The gun store manager describes the weapon (rather ludicrously and contradictorily) as "a rifle for hunting elephants, a repeating 12 gauge, 5-shot with explosive bullets". The shotgun seems to have some minor differences from the real weapon, so it may be some kind of replica. What is especially strange, when the manager shows the gun to Bonnot, he loads it with rifle ammunition that looks similar (but not exactly the same) to 8x50mmR Lebel with round- or flat-nose bullets. The tips of the bullets are painted in blue which can be seen on some hunting ammunition (the cartridge in center on the photo is one such hunting design from Societe Francaise de Munitions, Paris).
In the following scenes the heat shield and the bayonet lug are partially removed from the shotgun. The weapon is used by André Soudy (Dominique Maurin) until his arrest. In real life Soudy who was known as l’homme a la carabine ("the man with the carbine") used a Winchester Model 1907, which was a very modern weapon in 1911.
Numerous double barreled shotguns are seen in the gun store. During the final shootout, Maria la Belge (Annie Girardot) fires a Double Barreled Shotgun with exposed hammers that is then used by Jules Bonnot (Bruno Cremer) and Octave Garnier (Jean-Pierre Kalfon). Judging by the rather intricate shape of the trigger guard and the short handguard with the underlever, this is a genuine mid to late 19th century production, possibly a Lefaucheux system pinfire gun, converted to more modern ammunition (the hammers match ones used on a centerfire gun, not a pinfire).
What appears to be some semi-auto shotgun is seen in the gun store. While the Browning Auto-5 already existed in 1911, the screen gun is some more modern weapon, due to the less angular shape. The Manufrance Perfex is a possible, although only educated, guess.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingFor reference: Manufrance Perfex, semi-auto version of the Manufrance Rapid - 12 gauge. This gun can be seen in French movies of thelate 1960s.Error creating thumbnail: File missingWhat appears to be a semi-auto shotgun is seen between two double barreled shotguns to the left of the store manager. The receiver seems to have a charging handle, and the handguard also resembles the one of a semi-auto shotgun.
Rifles
Berthier Mle 1907/15
During the final shootout, the soldiers of the Zouave unit are armed with the Berthier Mle 1907-15. Gendarmes also hold Berthier rifles but none of those is seen clear enough to make a guess about a particular model.
In accordance with the real course of events, the Zouaves deploy a Hotchkiss Mle 1914 machine gun against Bonnot and Garnier (the real machine gun, used during the events, was probably an Mle 1900). Nevertheless, in the firing scenes, the Hotchkiss is substituted with an MG08.
An MG08 replaces the Hotchkiss when the Zouaves fire at the house where Bonnot and Garnier make their last stand. The muzzle flashes of the machine gun are rather small and bluish, so possibly the MG08 is a natural gas powered mockup.
The opening and closing credits are held against the background of illustrations from the 1911-1912 issues of the French magazine Le Petit Journal. A number of guns, used by the gang members and the police, can be seen in these illustrations.
