It is quite possible that the first movie to show a chainsaw used as a weapon was the 1968 film “Dark of the Sun”. The movie, staring Rod Taylor and Jim Brown, follows a team of mercenaries that are sent after a horde of diamonds during the African Congo Crisis.
The movie features a fight scene where Peter Carsten’s ex-Nazi Capt. Henlein attacks Rod Taylor’s Capt. Bruce Curry with a chainsaw. The chainsaw used in the attack appears to be a McCulloch Model 3-10 (or possibly a Model 4-10 or 5-10). Regardless of the specific model, this type of chainsaw was made by the McCulloch Motor Corporation during the mid-1960’s. McCulloch chainsaws were made in Los Angeles, CA, a long way from the African Congo, but very close to a Hollywood studio. “Dark of the Sun” was considered to be a very violent film for it’s time.
The Lumber Museum has an earlier McCulloch Chainsaw, a Model 47 on display in our exhibits. The Model 47 was made between 1953 and 1956. It weighed-in at a hefty 26 pounds; ten years later in 1966 the McCulloch Model 3-10 cut the weight of the saw down to a mere 15 pounds. This made the M3-10 much easier to swing at Rod Taylor’s head.
