Great sites

Anything Hollywood

Atomic Popcorn

Banned in Hollywood

Bits & Pieces

Blockbuster Buzz

Book mistakes

CanMag

CHUD

The Daily Column

Daily Stab

Defamer

Double Viking

The Evil Beet

Film Drunk

Filmofilia

Filmspotting

Foundry Music

Game mistakes

Geek Tyrant

Gone Hollywood

Hollyscoop

Hollywood Outbreak

I Am Bored

I Love Bacon

Joblo movie news

Movie Banter

Movie Buzz

Movie spoilers

Movie timeline

Other crap

Screenjunkies

Sky movie reviews

Something Really Funny

Tengossip

Trailer Addict

Unreality Magazine

Trivia

The "Graf Spee" still exists! The USS Salem (which played the part) is now a museum. See more...

Mistake pictures

Movie Mistakes blog

Popular blog posts:

Top 15 biggest Harry Potter film mistakes

The biggest mistakes in the Harry Potter movies

10 Twilight mistakes in pictures

The 20 biggest Friends mistake pictures

10 Biggest mistakes in The Twilight Saga: New Moon

Update alerts | Exclude type?

The Battle of the River Plate (1956) - 5 mistakes

Add actor/director information

Genres: Action, Adventure, Drama, History, War

Mistakes
Trivia
Corrections
Submit
⇑
⇓

Continuity: In the final shot, just as the credits are rolling, the British warships are sailing away with the sun setting behind them. In an earlier scene the radio commentator says that the sun is setting and a shot of the sun touching the surface of the sea is shown.

Edit
⇑
⇓

Factual error: Some of the gun crews (usually skulking behind the guns) on the "Graf Spee" are wearing their American helmets. (U.S. Navy refused permission for German helmets to be worn, but regardless of the reason it is still a movie mistake.)

Edit
⇑
⇓

Factual error: Near the end of the film, the crew of the Sheffield are ordered to stand at attention, salute and "face to starboard!" They are all facing to port, including the captain, who gave the order.

Edit
⇑
⇓

Continuity: At the end of the film the fleet were instructed to sail towards the burning vessel, which would have meant that they were travelling west - into the setting sun. Given the location of Montevideo on the River Plate it is somewhat dubious that the sun would set over the sea even at that time of year.

Edit
⇑
⇓

Factual error: When the filmmakers were choosing existing warships to play the roles of the ships in the battle, they didn't quite match up some of the details. The Graf Spee is represented by USS Salem which has three triple gun turrets - yet in the Captain's cabin is a photograph of the real Graf Spee which had just two turrets. Likewise, HMS Ajax is represented by a Sheffield class cruiser with four triple gun turrets - yet in the fire control area there are just eight lights to indicate guns ready to fire.

Edit