Casablanca (1942) - 22 mistakes

Continuity: When Bogie is reading the note from Bergman, it is dissolved by the heavy rain and he is dripping wet, so is Sam, who delivered the note. But then he is standing on the step of the train totally dry.

Continuity: In the final scenes at the airport, when Rick is talking to Major Strasser, the epaulettes on Strasser's shoulders alternately appear and disappear.

Visible crew/equipment: The famous final scene on the airport tarmac was actually filmed on a soundstage. The airplane in the background is a scale model. If you look closely, you can notice something odd about the crew working on the plane.

Continuity: When Rick and Renault are sitting at a table outside Rick's Cafe, a bottle disappears from the table between one cut and the next and then reappears. In the shot without the bottle, there seems to be a champagne bottle at an angle in the background, something that is not visible in the other shots when the first bottle is on the table.

Factual error: Major Strasser uniform trousers have a double stripe running down the side. Double stripes were reserved for General Officers therefor Strasser would not be entitled to wear them.

Factual error: Major Strasser refers to Rick as a "bumbling American." Capt. Renault then replies, "We mustn't underestimate American blundering. I was with them when they blundered into Berlin in 1918." During World War I, no Allied soldiers ever attacked or occupied Berlin. In fact, when the war ended Germans still occupied some French territory. This led in part to the rise of Hitler and World War II because of the belief that Germany did not really lose World War I but was sold out by various conspirators.

Revealing: Dooley Wilson could not play the piano and so a pianist was playing offstage while he sang the songs. Just look at Dooley's hands whenever he is 'playing' the piano and you can immediately that this is true.

Continuity: When Ilsa is in Laslo's bedroom, she is shown from behind looking out the window at the street below, then after an edit she is shown looking at the street from out side the window. The problem is that the first shot showed her looking through a roll-type window shade, and the second is a slat-type Venetian blind.

Factual error: When Rick is talking about the German guns shelling near Paris, he describes them as 77's (non-existent) - likely meant the famous 88's used as anti-aircraft and tanks as well as for wheeled guns. [The line was originally "88s" but was changed at the request of the War Dept. so as to not tip the German's hands that we knew about the 88s.]

Continuity: When Rick goes to see Ferrari at the Blue Parrot the first time, there is a bottle on the table between them. Ferrari is shown taking the cap off the bottle, pouring a drink, and then returning the cap to the bottle. In the next cut, the bottle is gone, and in the cut after that the bottle is back, but without the cap, which should still be on it.

Continuity: When Ugarte (Peter Lorre) gives Rick the "Letters of Transit", Rick places them in the right breast pocket of his jacket, but when he goes into the other room, to the rear of the piano, he removes them from his left breast pocket.

Continuity: In the opening scene, the man with expired papers runs and is shot next to a large mural and an empty archway. The camera angle changes to show the police running up to him and there is now a bored looking young girl leaning on the inside of the arch.

Continuity: In the scene when Rick is discussing exit visas with the attractive Bulgarian woman (and what she is contemplating doing in order to get them) Rick's hands change from holding a drink to holding a cigarette between shots.

Continuity: After his bar has been closed, Rick discusses his financial situation with Carl. In long shot you see Carl wearing his glasses on his forehead, in a closer shot, the glasses are on his nose.

Factual error: Major Strasser is wearing the uniform of a luftwaffe major general. He has the double white strips on the pants leg, the white lapels on the overcoat in the scene where he is driving the car and white rank insignia can been seen throughout the movie.

Revealing: When we see the shadow of Rick opening the safe, there is also the shadow of a candle centered in the shadow of an archway. When we see Rick closing the safe, the shadow of the candle is now at the edge of the shadow of the archway; showing that the two shots were lit differently.

Continuity: In the beginning of the movie a man comes outside the door to look for Rick and the spotlight passes by him. When he walks over to Rick it passes by him again. All the other times the spotlight passed it took about a minute to come back around again.

Continuity: When we first see Rick he picks up a cigarette and a chess piece. The camera angle changes to show people entering the room and Rick is now fiddling with his glass.

Factual error: Major Strasser is supposed to be a member of the Gestapo (Secret Police), but he is wearing the insignia and rank badges of a Luftwaffe (Air Force) major. (The Gestapo uniform was essentially the same as that of the Waffen-SS and would have had the double lighting bolt insignia on one lapel.)

Factual error: The extras in the film that were supposed to be Moroccans are perfectly dressed as Egyptians.