Blind Alley

Blind Alley Blind Alley (1939) Country USA Directed by Charles Vidor Release Date 1939 Studio Columbia Pictures Main Cast Character Actor Hal Wilson Chester Morris Dr. Shelby Ralph Bellamy Mary Ann Dvorak Linda Curtis Joan Perry George Curtis Melville Cooper Rose Stradner Doris Shelby

Blind Alley is a 1939 home invasion thriller adapted from a Broadway play of the same name and considered a precursor to American film noir, starring Chester Morris, Ralph Bellamy, and Ann Dvorak. It would be remade in 1948 as The Dark Past.

The following weapons were used in the film Blind Alley:

Handguns

Colt Detective Special

Fugitive killer Hal Wilson (Chester Morris) and his henchmen Buck (Marc Lawrence) and Nick (Milburn Stone) all carry Colt Detective Special revolvers, with Hal keeping his in a shoulder holster. Hal recalls a painful memory from his youth where his father had carried a Detective Special, though the memory likely predates the weapon's 1927 introduction.

Colt Detective Special 1st Gen with Round Butt - .38 Special

"Does that shoot real bullets?" Dr. Shelby's impressed son Davy (Scotty Beckett) asks Hal Wilson.

Nick keeps his Colt Detective Special drawn inside the Shelby household.

Hal draws his Detective Special.

Hal holds his Detective Special on Dr. Shelby.

Hal recalls his father dropping a Detective Special.

Mr. Wilson's Detective Special falls to the ground.

Hal checks the load in his Detective Special.

Colt Model 1908 Vest Pocket

Hal's moll Mary (Ann Dvorak) carries a blued Colt Model 1908 Vest Pocket.

Colt Model 1908 Vest Pocket - .25 ACP

An armed Mary helps round up the Shelby household.

Mary keeps her Colt Model 1908 Vest Pocket trained on the Shelby family, guests, and staff.

Single Action Army

Strangely, two of the policemen (James Craig and Dick Curtis) seeking Hal Wilson appear to have older Single Action Army six-shooters in their holsters rather than more modern .38 Special revolvers like the Colt Official Police or Smith & Wesson Military & Police.

Colt Single Action Army with 5.5" barrel known as the "Artillery" model. - .45 Long Colt

Joe (James Craig) and his fellow trooper (Dick Curtis) carry revolvers that appear to be old-fashioned Single Action Army handguns.

Submachine Guns

M1921A Thompson

Several of the policemen seeking Hal Wilson and his gang are armed with M1921A Thompson submachine guns with box magazines.

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

Two troopers enter the Shelby home with Thompsons.

Shotguns

Blunderbuss

Dr. Shelby (Ralph Bellamy) keeps a Blunderbuss Flintlock suspended above the fireplace in his home.

Blunderbuss Flintlock

Rifles

Winchester Model 1892 Saddle Ring Carbine

Buck (Marc Lawrence) carries a Winchester rifle that appears to be a Winchester Model 1892 Saddle Ring Carbine before it switches to a Winchester Model 1907 in an apparent continuity error. One of the policemen approaching the house also carries a Winchester carbine.

Winchester 1892 Saddle Ring Carbine - .32WCF/.38-40/.44-40/.25-20.

Buck surveys the rounded-up Shelby household and guests with his Winchester in hand.

A policeman approaches the Shelby home with his Winchester carbine.

Winchester Model 1907

Buck (Marc Lawrence) tosses his Winchester — now a Winchester Model 1907 semi-automatic rifle — to Hal Wilson (Chester Morris) to use during the final acts of the film. The Model 1907 was a popular weapon among real-life gangsters of the era, such as John Dillinger and Homer Van Meter.

Winchester Model 1907 with 5-round magazine - .351 Winchester

Buck's Winchester carbine is now a semi-auto Model 1907.

Hal holds the Winchester on Dr. Shelby.

Hal unloads the Winchester.

Hal reloads the Winchester.

Hal runs to the door, Winchester in hand.

Hal takes aim.