Jackie Brown

Hero Colt .38 Detective Special Pistol

Max Cherry’s Sidearm Also Used By Jackie Brown

Note: Most images throughout the article can be clicked on for higher resolution versions

Background: Jackie Brown

Jackie Brown (1997) is the third film by Quentin Tarantino, following Reservoir Dogs (1992) and Pulp Fiction (1994).  The movie served as a vehicle for leads Pam Grier and Robert Forster, veterans who had not held starring roles in a prominent film for decades.  The film also featured Robert De Niro, Samuel L. Jackson, Bridget Fonda, and Michael Keaton.  Forster received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and Greeg and Jackson both received nominations for Golden Globes.

The movie was Tarantino’s adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s novel, Rum Punch, somewhat remade into an homage of 70’s Blaxploitation films.

Hero Colt .38 Pistol Used By Robert Forster as Max Cherry and Pam Grier as Jackie Brown

This prop .38 Colt Detective Special pistol was seen throughout the film, used by both Robert Forster as Max Cherry and Pam Grier as Jackie Brown.

Early in the movie, Jackie Brown steals the pistol out of Max Cherry’s glove box.  He later discovers this, and allows her to keep the piece.  It is featured in several memorable scenes, in confrontation with Ordell and, toward the end of the film, “rehearsing” for a second confrontation.

The pistol also includes the original prop holster, also seen several times in the movie (though there appears to be two different ones employed).

Below are a series of photos:

Below are some still screencaptures from scenes in the film in which the pistol was featured:

Provenance & Authenticity

This is one of the only firearms in my collection which does not include rental agreements from the armorer.  However, it appears that the weapons handler on the film was actually the propmaster, Steve Joyner, and this piece came sourced from him, via StarWares (while under the ownership of Marcia Tyselling).

Following the release of the film, StarWares acquired a number of original props from Jackie Brown directly from Steve Joyner, including two firearms – this Colt .38 as well as Ordell’s sawed-off shotgun (illegal to own in California).

I have also been fortunate enough to obtain a few of the other props from this collection, including Jackie Brown’s wallet, Driver’s License, and credit cards.  To support the provenance of this collection, some of the credit cards used to fill out Jackie Brown’s wallet are actually old, expired cards previously owned by propmaster Steve Joyner:

The prop firearm itself also appears to be a “screen-match” with one shot in the film, when Jackie Brown pulls open a drawer, before pulling it out. Comparison and marked comparison seen below:

The precise matching will be better determined once the film is released in high definition on Blu-Ray Disc.

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