View Single Post
Old 31st March 2020, 10:12 PM   #8
Jim McDougall
Arms Historian
 
Jim McDougall's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Route 66
Posts: 9,745
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by drac2k
Thank you, gentlemen, for your interesting observations.
Several years ago, a large collection of weapons was liquidated on eBay from a movie studio; I acquired several nice pieces and several as Ian alluded to, which were good pieces, modified(ruined), for a particular movie.
In regards to the dhas actual use, I am a little unsure of. They are long and very heavy; wedge-shaped, but not sharp. If they were dance or temple dhas, they should be much lighter; I would think, cut out of sheet metal. Was the edge taken off because she didn't want two massively sharp items hanging on the wall that could hurt someone or were they just made as souvenirs?
Basil Rathbone was one of my favorites and a sword used in the movie "Taras Bulba," starring Yul Brynner and Tony Curtis is just about as good as it gets...........................unless you got an ax from the movie "The Vikings," starring Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis!

Temple dha's??? Were those Shirley's ? Just kidding.

In the many times Errol Flynn was paired with Basil Rathbone in swashbuckling movies, he was often miffed at having to 'lose' in sword battles with the far lesser swordsman Flynn.

You are so much on the same page as I am with these movies.....these I blame totally for a lifetime obsession with sword history.
I remember "Last of the Mohicans" with Daniel Day-Lewis, and Russell Means, the 'gunstock' war club (painted blue). I became curious about these and eventually reached Americana sage Norm Flayderman, who informed me that these were NOT used by woodland tribes and despite the lore, the Plains tribes who did use them did NOT used old gun stocks. They were simply similar and had knife blades inserted.
I then reached the Tennessee maker who fashioned these for the movie, who said he made five, and of course, these simply were license oriented.

Thinking of the famed illustrations of pirates in pirate stories, which are fantastic despite the fact that the brass hilt cutlasses depicted were actually Civil War navy cutlasses.

In the 70s I will never forget one guy who got a Bengal Cavalry saber inscribed, I forget which unit but rare to see these. He got it from a movie studio warehouse sale near Los Angeles.
Jim McDougall is offline   Reply With Quote