>> SPRINGFIELD ARMORY GOES TO HOLLYWOOD IS A NEW EXHIBIT AT
THE ARMORY THAT LOOKS AT THE MANY FIREARMS USED IN MOTION
PICTURES THROUGHOUT THE YEARS.
MANY WITH A CONNECTION TO THE ARMORY.
SPRINGFIELD ARMORY NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK SUPERINTENDENT
JAMES WOOLSEY AND EXHIBIT CURATOR ALEX MACKENZIE DISCUSS
THE EXHIBIT WITH JIM MADIGAN.
>> TRAVELING AROUND WE HAVE SEEN SEVERAL SIMILAR EXHIBITS, YOU
KNOW.
IT'S ALWAYS INTRIGUING WHEN YOU SEE STUFF THAT WAS USED IN THE
HOLLYWOOD MOVIES, YOU KNOW, REAL THINGS USED BY ACTORS ON THE
SCREEN.
AND I HAVE SEEN SEVERAL SUCCESSFUL EXHIBITS USING
FIREARMS, AND IT WAS INTERESTING LOOKING AT IT, SEEING HOW MANY
ACTUALLY HAD FORMER LIVES IN, YOU KNOW, COMING FROM
SPRINGFIELD ARMORY.
YOU EXPECT TO SEE SOMETHING LIKE THAT IN MILITARY FILMS, WAR
FILMS, WHERE YOU HAVE PORTRAYALS OF THE U.S. ARMY, WHICH, OF
COURSE, THEY WOULD BE CARRYING ARMORY WEAPONS.
BUT, THEN YOU SEE KIND OF THE OFFBEAT THINGS WHERE YOU WOULD
NOT EXPECT TO SEE THEM.
AND YOU SEE A LOT OF THAT IN THE EXHIBIT, TOO.
SO, THIS WAS A REAL FUN ONE TO PUT TOGETHER.
>> I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT MORE BUT SUPERINTENDENT JAMES
WOOLSEY, THIS HAS TO BE THE THING THAT YOU WANT TO DO
BECAUSE FOR ALL KINDS OF REASONS, YOU WANT PEOPLE TO COME
TO THIS SPRINGFIELD ARMORY SITE, AND WHEN YOU HAVE GOT SOMETHING
LIKE THERE TO SHOW THEM, IT'S EVEN MORE INTERESTING AND
ATTRACTIVE.
>> ABSOLUTELY, AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO
DO THE LAST COUPLE YEARS IS BOOST THE VISITATION, AND SO,
WE'VE BEEN DOING A LOT OF THINGS.
WE HAVE INSTALLED FREEWAY SIGNS, WE HAVE HAD CONCERTS AND OTHER
EVENTS, AND IN FACT, OUR VISITATION DID GO UP 10 OR 15%,
SO, IT'S BEEN EFFECTIVE, BUT I THINK THAT EXHIBITS LIKE THIS
AND, YOU KNOW, HAVING BRIGHT YOUNG MINDS LIKE ALEX DREAMING
UP REALLY INNOVATIVE EXHIBITS, IT'S A FANTASTIC THING TO DO.
>> AND ALEX MACKENZIE, I WILL PICK UP WHERE YOU LEFT OFF IN
THE LAST ANSWER.
HAD TO BE A FUN EXHIBIT BUT A CHALLENGING EXHIBIT, I WOULD
THINK, TO FIGURE OUT AND PUT TOGETHER.
>> THE -- ONE OF THE BIGGER CHALLENGES WAS WORKING WITH THE
CURRENT HOLLYWOOD PROP SHOPS, THAT STILL HAVE ALL OF THESE
OBJECTS AS ACTIVE PIECES OF THEIR COLLECTIONS WHERE THEY
WORK ON, CURRENT MOVIES.
TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, TO GET THE OBJECTS FROM HOLLYWOOD BACK HERE
TO SPRINGFIELD, WAS AN INTERESTING CHALLENGE, THAT --
TO DEAL WITH, AND THEN, TRYING TO FIND PIECES THAT WERE IN
PARTICULAR MOVIES, OR IN A LOT OF CASES, WE JUST SAID HEY, YOU
KNOW, SHOW US SOMETHING THAT WAS MADE IN SPRINGFIELD AND GOING
BACK AND FORTH, AND TONS AND TONS OF MOVIES.
>> WAS THAT A BIG PART OF IT, TO DEPICT THINGS THAT, ACTUALLY,
WERE PRODUCTS OF THE SPRINGFIELD ARMORY BECAUSE ALL KINDS OF
DIFFERENT WEAPONS, AND IN HAPPY CASES MILLIONS OF THEM WERE
MADE.
>> YEAH.
AND ONE OF THE REALLY INTERESTING STORIES THAT CAME
OUT THAT WE HAD ON THE EXHIBIT WAS IN THE EARLY DAYS OF FILM,
THEY ENDED UP, WHEN THEY HAD TO RECREATE WEAPONS, THEY,
ACTUALLY, ENDED UP TAKING THE OBSOLETE SURPLUS SPRINGFIELD
ARMORY-MADE TRAPDOOR WEAPONS, WHICH WERE TRASHED ARMY ISSUED
FROM THE 1870s THROUGH THE 1990s.
BUT BY THE 1920s OR 1930s, THEY WERE, YOU KNOW, SURPLUS,
THERE WERE A LOT OF THEM AROUND AND THEY WERE CHEAP, SO THE
MOVIE STUDIOS GRABBED THEM UP, AND STARTED REFABRICATED THEM
INTO VARIOUS PIECES DEPENDING ON THE GENRE OF THE MOVIES.
SO WE HAVE GOT OLD SPRINGFIELD TRAPDOORS MADE INTO PIRATE
PISTOLS OR OLD BLUNDER BUS FOR A PILGRIM MOVIE OR AN ARABIC
MUSKET FOR A NORTH AFRICAN-THEMED MOVIE.
AND SO THAT'S REALLY THE BEGINNING OF THE EXHIBIT.
>> LET ME ASK YOU ABOUT ONE SPECIFICALLY, WEAPON THAT'S ON
DISPLAY IN THE EXHIBIT, TYPE OF RIFLE, THE M-1, THAT WAS REALLY
THE INFANTRY RIFLE OF WORLD WAR II, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY
MILLIONS OF THEM MUST HAVE BEEN PRODUCED AT THE ARMORY.
THIS IS THE WEAPON THAT WAS USED IN THE BLOCKBUSTER IN THE
1970s, "JAWS."
>> THERE WERE 3.5 MILLION OF THOSE MADE AT SPRINGFIELD ARMORY
DURING THE WORLD WAR II.
SO, THERE WERE A LOT AROUND.
THE -- AFTER IT HAD THE SERVICE LIFE, IT DID END UP GETTING INTO
THE STUDIOS, AND BEING USED IN THE MOVIE, "JAWS" AND WE WERE
ABLE TO CONTACT THE PROP HOUSE THAT STILL HAD IT, IN THEIR PROP
COLLECTION, AND IT WAS USED IN THE MOVIE, AND THE NEAT THING
IS, ONCE WE GOT IT, WE WERE ABLE TO SEE THE SERIAL NUMBER, AND
IT'S STAMPED SPRINGFIELD ARMORY AND MADE THERE IN 1943 AS PART
OF THE OVERALL WAR EFFORT AND GREAT TO SEE THAT IT HAD THIS
SECOND LIFE IN HOLLYWOOD.
>> AND WHO KNOWS WHAT STORY, I MEAN, THAT WEAPON COULD TELL,
NOT ONLY JUST BEING IN THE EXHIBIT, BUT WHERE IT'S BEEN AND
QUITE A STORY.
>> ABSOLUTELY.
>> JAMES WOOLSEY, THESE ARE THE KIND OF THINGS, I THINK,
SOMETIMES THAT WE LOCALLY, ESPECIALLY, EXCUSE ME, MAY
FORGET.
IT'S SO MUCH -- SPRINGFIELD ARMORY HAS BEEN A PART OF
KEEPING THIS NATION SAFE AND FREE FOR A LONG TIME, AND THIS
IS A FUN WAY TO BRING THAT POINT TO PEOPLE, IT SEEMS.
>> I THINK THAT IT'S A GREAT WAY TO DO THAT, AND I THINK THAT,
YOU KNOW, IT'S INTERESTING FOR ME, I HAVE WORKED IN LOTS OF
NATIONAL PARKS AROUND THE COUNTRY AND AROUND THE WORLD.
AND IT SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF TIMES LOCAL PEOPLE DON'T REALLY
UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF THEIR OWN HISTORY.
AND A PLACE LIKE THE SPRINGFIELD ARMORY THAT WAS, YOU KNOW,
NATIONALLY, INTERNATIONALLY SIGNIFICANT, THIS IS A GREAT WAY
FOR PEOPLE TO REALLY, YOU KNOW, TO CHOMP ON AND UNDERSTAND THE
HISTORY OF THEIR OWN PLACE.
>> OK.
THIS EXHIBIT IS THERE THROUGH THE SUMMER INTO THE FALL.
LET'S TALK ABOUT SOME OTHER -- YOU HAVE A LOT OF OTHER THINGS
COMING UP.
THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING GOING ON AT THE ARMORY.
MEMORIAL DAY, MONDAY, MAY 25TH, CONCERT BY THE U.S. COAST GUARD
BAND.
>> SO WE'LL HAVE A SERIES OF CONCERTS, SO THAT WILL BE THE
FIRST ONE OF THE SEASON, AND FOR ARMORY DAY, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE
A DANCE TROUPE THAT WILL BE THERE, SO A SERIES OF CONCERTS
THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER, AND IF PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED, POP INTO
THE ARMORY, WE HAVE SCHEDULES PRINTED.
ANOTHER THING WE'RE GOING TO DO ON MAY 15th, WE'RE HOSTING A
SYMPOSIUM ON THE PRECISION VALLEY, AND PRECISION
MANUFACTURING WAS A THING THAT REALLY DEFINES THE CONNECTICUT
RIVER VALLEY.
I THINK THAT CAN BE ARGUED THAT THAT'S REALLY PROBABLY ONE OF
THE MOST SIGNIFICANT THINGS THAT HAPPENED IN THE UNITED STATES
AND CERTAINLY IN THIS AREA.
AND SO, WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT THAT AND BRING IN SCHOLARS, AND
THEY ARE GOING TO LOOK AT THE PLACE OF CONNECTICUT RIVER IN
THE INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES.
SO, AGAIN, IF PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED, HOP ON BY THE ARMORY
AND THEY ARE WELCOME TO SEE THAT EVENT.
>> AND JEAT, JUNE 20, ARMORY DAY, THAT'S ALWAYS A REAL COOL
FAMILY DAY.
YOU MENTIONED CIVIL WAR MUSIC AND DANCE TROUPE, AND ONE OF THE
THINGS THAT I FOUND INTERESTING ALWAYS IS YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE
PEOPLE THERE LIVING HISTORY GROUPS, REPRESENTING ALL
DIFFERENT PERIODS BECAUSE THE ARMORIES PRODUCE WEAPONS FROM
THE WAR OF 1812, RIGHT UP THROUGH AND ON KOREA, YOU ARE
GOING TO HAVE A LOT OF GROUPS.
>> ABSOLUTELY, SO TYPICALLY, WE HAVE RE-ENACTORS WHO DO
ENCAMPMENTS, AND IT'S A WONDERFUL PLACE FOR PEOPLE TO
COME AND SEE HISTORY IN THE FLESH, BUT ALSO, TO, YOU KNOW,
ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT FIREARMS OR CAMP LIFE WITH THE MILITARY
LIFE, ALL THOSE THINGS WILL BE THERE, ACTUALLY, ONE OF THE MORE
INTERESTING THINGS, AND YOU COULD TALK ABOUT THIS, IS WE'RE
GOING TO SHOW A MOVIE AT ARMORY DAY.
>> ACTUALLY, IT JUST SO HAPPENS THAT JUNE 20th, 2015, IS THE
40th ANNIVERSARY OF THE RELEASE OF JAWS.
AND WE HAVE GOT THAT AS OUR CENTERPIECE FOR OUR EXHIBIT, AND
SO WE'LL BE GETTING A NICE OUTDOOR SCREEN WITH A SOUND
SYSTEM AND HAVE AN EVENING SCREENING OF THE CLASSIC JAWS
OUT BACK BEHIND THE MUSEUM.
>> SUPERINTENDENT, JAMES WOOLSEY, FROM THE SPRINGFIELD
ARMORY NATIONAL SITE AND ALEX MACKENZIE, THANK YOU BOTH FOR
COMING IN AND SPENDING TIME WITH US.
>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING US.