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(Courtesy of Ed Phillips)
Another cowboy film hero who briefly tried the 'Bill Elliott gun butt forward style' was Sunset Carson.

On the left, Sunset is about to tangle with Weldon Heyburn in CODE OF THE PRAIRIE (Republic, 1944).

After a few early films, Carson adopted the normal style, with the gun butt facing toward the rear.

Note the tape wrapped around the grip on Heyburn's six-shooter.



I had always thought that the gunbelt used by John Wayne in his Lone Star/Monogram films looked the same as the rig worn by Bob Steele, also during his days at Monogram. After reviewing several photos and films, and doing some scans and blowups, it appears that both the Wayne and Steele gunbelts from this period were similar, but not the same. See below.


(From Old Corral collection)

Above, Bob Steele is about to chat with Charlie King (sans moustache) in THE FIGHTING CHAMP (Monogram, 1932).  Note Steele's gunbelt with the light colored bullet loops and the light colored edging on the belt.


(Courtesy of Minard Coons)

Above, on the far left is Edward Peil and next to him is Yakima Canutt. On the right is Wayne restraining pretty Eleanor Hunt and George Hayes handling the six gun. From BLUE STEEL (Lone Star/Monogram, 1934), probably the best of Wayne's Lone Star series of westerns. Peil was the brains heavy and Canutt portrayed the "Polka Dot Bandit". From a distance, that gunbelt on Wayne sure looks the same as the one of Bob Steele - light colored bullet loops and all.

  

Blowups from the above pictures of Steele's gunbelt on the left and Wayne on the right.  The design is very similar, but they are not the same.


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