Stalag 17 (1953) - 7 mistakes

Factual error: When Lt. Dunbar is being interrogated in the Commandant's office you can see a map on the far wall. It is a map of Germany dictated by the Treaty of Versailles which ended World War I because it shows E. Prussia separated from Germany and does not include the annexation of Austria and Czechoslovakia. These annexations were completed before the start of World War II in '39 and certainly before late '44, early '45 when the film took place. It is highly unlikely any German officer would have this map displayed not only because it's inaccurate but because it displayed the territorial losses brought on by the humiliating defeat of World War I.

Continuity: When the POWs are preparing to move Dunbar, Sefton draws his pocketknife and throws it into the table, slanted, near a square etched into the tabletop. In the following shot, the knife is farther away from the square, and it stands up straight.

Continuity: When William Holden is laying on his bunk and first notices the shadow of the hanging electric bulb, he turns around to look at the bulb, but there is no light source beyond the bulb to cause such a shadow.

Factual error: Near the beginning of the film when two of the POW's are caught and shot trying to escape,they walk into a German machine gun nest. The machine gun is an American Browning 1919 A4, which was definitely NOT German military issue.

Continuity: When the camp is trying to save Dunbar with the smoke screen, the smoke pattern changes between the shots. For example, the wide shot shows the smoke going off perfectly without any wind, but in the next shot when they show a close-up of the commandant going outside to see what's wrong, the smoke is now carried by a lot of wind.

Continuity: The outside shots that show the barracks roof show 2 stove chimneys per barrack, but the inside shots show only 1 stove.

Factual error: We know the movie takes place in December of 1944 because of the reference to the Battle of the Bulge. That winter was particularly cold yet we see mud and water on the ground with remnants of snow and ice on the buildings. In addition the barracks windows are frosted over throughout the movie; this frost would melt away before ice and snow on the ground.