Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines

Correction: The dialogue never states it is a British design, neither is there a logical reason why a British pilot shouldn't fly a french design. The dialog explicitly states that "until three years ago" there were no British fliers, so instead it makes perfect sense to see British fliers use imported designs.

Doc

Corrected entry: When Dubois has to land his plane just short of Paris, he lands on a field, and the plane's wake blows down a hay stack. But the wake should blow the straw towards the plane, not away from it.

Correction: It would seem that the contributor has never stood behind a propellor driven aircraft while it was revving up. The slipstream most definitely flows backwards.

Corrected entry: The British comedian Benny Hill plays the air field fire chief; his role is not listed in the movie's credits.

Correction: Not quite correct. Benny is listed in both the opening and closing credits. His precise role is not against his name, but then that applies to most of the minor characters in the film too.

Corrected entry: When Yamamoto receives the news about the race, look in slow-mo as he lands his kite. On close observation, the cables the kite has been suspended on from the set can be seen.

Correction: The rules of this site are quite clear - if you have to use slow motion to see it, it is not a mistake.

Factual error: The "American" aircraft is really a British design called a Bristol Boxkite.

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: Why is this an error? The "American" aircraft was fictional (there was no such thing as the "Phoenix Flyer") so they could have used anything to represent it. The design they used was known to work and was safe. The original Boxkite was actually a British version of The Farman and was similar in appearance the the American Curtiss.

The American pilot, while talking to the movie's heroine, states that his plane is a Curtiss. Check the scene in the restaurant, the night before he saves the German plane with the damaged tail. I tend to think the "Phoenix Flyer" was the name of that individual plane, and not the model of aircraft. That would mean that the pilot of the plane indirectly said that his plane was of American manufacture, as Curtiss was an American company.

Another interesting note is that in the scene with the runaway German plane, Orville Newton's plane is being wheeled out of the hangar, which has a "Bristol Company" sign over the doors. They "just happen" to be borrowing space in the hangar owned by the company that made the original Bristol Boxkites! It's a meaningless detail, but fun that they arranged it that way.

More mistakes in Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines

Count Emilio Ponticelli: It is a pity that the race will now be won by a Protestant.
Mother Superior: A Protestant? Sisters, don't stand there gazing. This good Catholic needs our help.

More quotes from Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines

Trivia: In the beginning of the movie there is a reference to a Frenchman who had crossed the Channel by plane in the previous year (1909). The man meant is Louis Blériot, who flew from Calais to Dover in his famous craft 'Blériot XI' in 37 minutes. Again it was a competition race, for a 1000 Pounds set by the London Daily Mail.

More trivia for Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.