Red Dawn at 35: The Guns of the Great American Classic

By Chris Eger

Opening 35 years ago this week, the film Red Dawn brought World War III to a small American town and the town fought back. Written and directed by noted Hollywood gun guy John Milius — legend has it that 1911-toting bowling purist Walter Sobchak in The Big Lebowski was partially based on him — the motion picture’s opening act involves Soviet paratroopers dropping on an American high school unannounced, looking to turn the Cold War hot. Within the first 10 minutes of the film, teens who managed to give said Russki sky soldiers the slip begin to reach for the glove compartments and gun racks as signs mount that the invasion is on.
(Caution, big-time spoilers below if you have never seen the film, but then again it has been out for 35 years, so just what are you waiting for?)
M1911A1
Two World Wars…make it a third (Photo: Richard Taylor/Guns.com)
Other than the invaders’ guns put into action as soon as their chutes collapsed — which are a mix of CZ75 and Tokarev TT-33 pistols and Egyptian Maadi ARMs and Finnish Valmet M78s made up to look like Soviet AKs and RPKs — the first American iron firing back is an M1911A1 GI pried

Source: Guns.com