Hybrid Civil War-era revolver seen on film: Movie prop or reality?

Factual Questions
1

Last night on the History channel, on a program about “Old West Technology”, I saw a man handling a gun that appeared to be a cross between a black powder revolver and a single action Peacemaker. It occurred to me that I had seen a similar gun in one other place: in the film The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. In that film, set in the time of the Cival War, Clint Eastwood used such an odd piece.

The revolver I am referring to appears to have aspects of a cartridge revolver (the Peacemaker) and a black powder revolver.

It has a loading gate on the right side of the cylinder and fires cartridges.

But it sports what appears to be a loading lever of the type used on black power revolvers (in place of the ejector rod of the Peacemaker). In addition, it has no topstrap.

Is this a movie prop, fooling many who have never handled such a weapon, or is it an authentic model?

2

Is this the type of gun you’re referring to ?

http://casguns.homestead.com/Colts1861_Navy.html

3

Colt’s made “open top” revolvers in the configuration you’re talking about in 1872 and there were also third party conversions of Colt’s navy and army revolvers.

You may have noticed that in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly that Blondie and Tuco shoot Colt’s navy revolvers with cartridge conversions though it’s extremely unlikely any existed that early.

Here’s a vendor that sells reproduction open top and conversion revolvers.

http://www.cimarron-firearms.com/conversions.htm

4

That Colt 1861 Navy is what I’m thinking about, but with a loading gate while still retaining the loading lever (not ejector rod).

Padeye’s link looks like what they had, but I don’t remember seeing the cartridge ejector.

I’ll see if I can post a frame or two tonight.

5

Yeah, the conversions are definitely out of era, but hey, its one of my favorite films of all time. Hokey and brilliant at the same time.

6

Ok.

Here’s some screen shots:

Closeup of Blondie reloading clearly shows open gate as well as Colt Navy loading lever on bottom.

Tuco with his newly-acquired revolver, freshly loaded with brass cartridges.

Unless someone says otherwise, I think that these guns existed only on the movie set. They don’t have the ejector rod.