Catch Me If You Can (2002) - 45 mistakes

Continuity: In the scene where Frank's mother spills red wine on the carpet the stain shifts altogether once the next shot shows his parents dancing.

Audio problem: Frank's mother spills some wine on the carpet, but the you can hear the sound one or two seconds before she actually did it.

Continuity: In the scene where Frank's parents have been informed of their son's impersonation of a French teacher, Frank is seen through the window of the office. At this point, when he flashes a cheesy grin, his hair is a mess - presumably to remind us that he is still only a young, cheeky schoolboy. However, upon his parents leaving the office, Frank's hair is perfectly styled again in a neat side parting.

Continuity: When Frank's parents are meeting with his principal after he pretends to be a teacher his mother is smoking a cigarette and is exhaling smoke, but when she looks at Frank there is no smoke at all in the air.

Factual error: In the street scene after Frank buys his airline uniform, he crosses the street in front of two buses. Behind one of the buses you can see a Federal Express truck. The movie is set in 1964; FedEx began operations in 1973; the FedEx logo on the truck was introduced in 1994.

Factual error: When Carl explains the check system to the other police officers, they show a map of the USA with Kansas City in Nebraska instead of Kansas, and Boston in Maine instead of Massachusetts. The next time the map was shown, the cities are at the good place and the shades of gray are different.

Continuity: When Frank Abagnale Sr. unwraps the gift of car keys from Frank Abagnale Jr., he places the yellow ribbon on his right side, on the table. In the next shot, it is lying on the left side.

Continuity: In the scene where Frank Jr. gives car keys in a small gift box to his dad in a restaurant, his dad puts the car keys back into the small gift box and places it on the table in front of Frank. In the next few shots the gift box is sometimes completely closed and sometimes a little bit open (as if the keys got stuck in between).

Other: In the scene where Frank is watching the Bond film: turn on subtitles. You will notice that when Bond says "Tell me Jill, why does he do it?", the subtitles read "Tell me Joan, why does he do it?".

Factual error: When we see Leo's yearbook photo close-up, the image isn't half-toned as it would have been at the time. Instead, it's printed using error diffusion dithering, a computer technique not available at the time.

Revealing: In the Atlanta party scene, we are supposed to believe it starts with a single long take. However there is a sneaky edit when Frank crosses the threshold of the room. He emerges at a slighty quicker pace and his hair is suddenly messed up.

Factual error: The nurse in the hospital wearing braces has the stick on braces, which were not available at that time. The only type available had wrap around bands.

Factual error: On the letter from Frank Jr. to Frank Sr. with the Atlanta return address, the stamp used had not yet been issued by the date of postmark (September 12, 1965). The stamp, the sheet version of the 5-cent "unshaven" George Washington (Scott Catalogue No. 1283), was not issued until February 22, 1966.

Continuity: When Frank meets with his wife-to-be's mother and father, it's night time. When Frank and the father are talking after dinner, it is light out, but the characters are in the same outfits.

Factual error: When Frank Jr. is watching Mitch Miller with Brenda's family, there is no bouncing ball on the words on the screen like there was on the actual show.

Continuity: When Frank Jr. is talking to Frank Sr in the dirty bar/restaurant, there is a red candle on the table, and nothing else. We then cut to Frank Jr, and cut back to Frank Sr. Now there is an ashtray there as well. It couldn't have just been put there by a waiter, as it has cigarette ends in it.

Continuity: During the wedding, when Frank says to Brenda that they have to go, the amount of checks changes during the scene.

Continuity: In the scene where Carl comes to the engagement party to arrest Frank, it is so windy that when the window in the bedroom is left open, money is flying all around. However, the shots of the party outside show a calm night with no wind at all.

Factual error: Towards the end, when young girls are 'interviewed' for stewardess' positions, one of them sings part of John Denver's 'Leaving on a Jet Plane'. That song was on John Denver's debut LP "Rhymes and Reasons" which was released in 1969, and made popular by Peter, Paul & Mary, but by then Abignale was already in jail in France, having been arrested two years prior, in 1967.

Factual error: In the scene where Handratty hits the button to stop the press, suddenly individual checks come flying up from the press. This could not happen. On such a large press the checks would be printed several up on a large sheet of paper, to be cut down after printing is completed.