The following firearms were used in the film The French Connection :
File:French.jpg The French Connection (1971)
Handguns Colt Gold Cup National Match Charnier's hitman Pierre Nicoli (Marcel Bozzuffi ) carries a Colt Gold Cup National Match as his sidearm throughout the film, notably using it to hijack the BMT West End Line elevated train.
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Colt Gold Cup National Match (Mark IV, Series 70) - .45 ACP. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Nicoli shoots a French policeman in Marseilles. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Nicoli shoots a New York transit policeman. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Nicoli threatens the subway motorman. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Nicoli's Colt Gold Cup National Match. Colt Detective Special Many of the NYPD detectives, including Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle (Gene Hackman ), Walt Simonson (Eddie Egan , the real life basis for Doyle), and FBI agent Bill Mulderig (Bill Hickman ), carry Colt Detective Specials . Doyle keeps his in an ankle holster, although it switches in several scenes to a Smith & Wesson Model 36 . Several of Boca's mobsters, including his brother Lou (Benny Marino ), also use Detective Specials.
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Colt Detective Special - .38 Special Error creating thumbnail: File missing Doyle's Colt DS in his ankle holster. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Simonson's Detective Special rests in a waist holster as he talks to Russo. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Doyle draws his Detective Special when Nicoli shoots at him. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Doyle aims his Detective Special at Nicoli before the elevated train car chase. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Mulderig holds his Colt DS on a car stripper. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Lou and another mobster fire Detective Specials. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Doyle spins around with his Detective Special drawn, not realizing Russo was behind him. Smith & Wesson Model 36 Due to continuity errors, some shots of Det. "Popeye" Doyle (Gene Hackman ) pursuing Nicoli after the car chase and searching for Charnier after the bust, his Colt Detective Special is now a Smith & Wesson Model 36 . Salvatore "Sal" Boca (Tony Lo Bianco ) and some of his mobsters also fire Model 36s at the NYPD.
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Smith and Wesson Model 36 - .38 Special Error creating thumbnail: File missing Doyle aims at Nicoli with a Model 36 (even though he had a Colt DS earlier in the scene). Error creating thumbnail: File missing Sal Boca fires at the police. Error creating thumbnail: File missing At the top of the screen, Boca fires his Model 36 as another henchman fires a Detective Special and a Beretta Model 70. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Doyle searches for Charnier, his Colt DS now a Model 36. Smith & Wesson Model 10 Snub Nose Det. Buddy "Cloudy" Russo (Roy Scheider ) uses a Smith & Wesson Model 10 Snub Nose with a square butt.
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Smith & Wesson Model 10 Revolver Snub Nose - .38 Special Error creating thumbnail: File missing Russo searches for Charnier with his Model 10 Snub. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Russo aims his Model 10 Snub. Beretta Model 70 One of Boca's mobsters fires at the NYPD with a Beretta Model 70 .
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Beretta Model 70 - .32 ACP Error creating thumbnail: File missing At the bottom of the screen, under the two Detective Special-firing mobsters, a mobster fires a Beretta Model 70. Shotguns Winchester Model 1897 Det. Buddy "Cloudy" Russo (Roy Scheider ) and several other NYPD officers fire Winchester Model 1897 shotguns at the mobsters and drug dealers during the final shootout.
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Winchester Model 1897 - 12 gauge. This is an imported copy of the non-take down version of the Winchester 1897 Shotgun (a Norinco 97W shotgun, imported by IAC). Error creating thumbnail: File missing Russo aims his Model '97. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Two NYPD officers fire a Colt Detective Special and a Winchester Model 1897. Error creating thumbnail: File missing Russo fires his Winchester '97.
Winchester Model 1912 A uniformed NYPD officer fires at the mobsters with a Winchester Model 1912 .
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Winchester M1912 Riot Gun - 12 gauge Error creating thumbnail: File missing The officer aims at the mobsters' drug deal house. Ithaca 37 During the final shootout several of the other NYPD officers appear to be using the Ithaca 37 shotgun. The Ithaca 37 was used by the NYPD for several decades, including the 1970s.
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Ithaca Model 37 riot version - 12 gauge Rifle Winchester Model 70 Pierre Nicoli (Marcel Bozzuffi ) uses a Winchester Model 70 to snipe at Doyle, accidentally hitting a woman who was standing near him.
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Pre-1964 Winchester Model 70 - .30-06 Error creating thumbnail: File missing Doyle finds Nicoli's abandoned Winchester Model 70 on the rooftop. Grenade Launcher Federal 201-Z Grenade Launcher A uniformed NYPD officer fires a Federal M201-Z at the mobsters.
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Federal M201-Z - 37mm. Upgrade from the L-5, the M201Z has a secondary ladder sight behind the latch and the barrel is ringed for a sling swivel. The L-5 has a plain smooth barrel. Error creating thumbnail: File missing The officer fires the 201-Z. 
