Chicago (2002) - 32 mistakes

Continuity: In the final scene where Roxie and Velma are dancing in the concert hall, Roxie is on the right and Velma is on the left.

Factual error: In the scene where Roxie is placed in the "paddy wagon" to be taken to Cook County Jail, the prosecutor refers to himself as District Attorney Harrison. However, the court system in Illinois doesn't have district attorneys; rather, they have state's attorneys. The original play by Maureen Watkins correctly calls him a state's attorney.

Factual error: When Mr. Flynn is in the restaurant talking about the latest socialite arrested for triple homicide, he briefly uses a telephone their waiter provides. According to an antique phone collector's association, there are many errors between the phone and the time period. First of all, that phone's design was from the Bell Tel. Co., and wasn't manufactured until about 1930. Secondly, even if the movie was set in late 1929, the phone has a handset didn't exist until 1937. Thirdly, the phone is brass-plated with an ivory handset; This colour combo was called the "Imperial", and was introduced to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of Bell Tel. Co. in 1951, and was certainly not available in the 20s.

Continuity: When Roxie is about to fire Billy, there is a close-up of her telling him off, and you can see some loose blonde hairs falling out of her hairstyle. In the next close-up they are gone, and in the next one they're back again.

Continuity: When Velma is dancing and singing for Roxie after making her the offer to replace her sister, during the first half she has an obvious run in her right stocking and a hole about the size of a quarter over her knee. When she tells Roxie the second half is better and finishes her number, the run has disappeared.

Continuity: When Roxie first gets to jail and a woman asks her if she ever had Morton before, Roxie shakes her head and turns her head away from her. When it cuts Roxie is still staring straight at the woman.

Continuity: During Roxie's first song and she sings "If you know him like me, I know you'd agree" while gently kicking the pianist's hat, she smiles with her mouth open exposing her teeth. When it cuts her mouth is closed.

Continuity: During the Cell Block Tango, 'Pop' dances with her partner while she sings. When she says "not chewing, popping!", she turns her head sharply and some of her hair lands on her partners hat. When she says, "You pop that gum," she moves and the hair falls off, but in the close up, it is on his hat again in the same position.

Continuity: At the very start of the Nowadays/Hot Honey Rag Medley Title song, where both Velma and Roxie are facing away from the audience, Velma's arm changes position between shots, from being at her side, to on her hip, and back to her side again.

Continuity: When Morton sings her first song she sings "Because the system works, the system call reciprocity", she bends down and slowly rise up with her eyes closed. When it cuts her eyes are open.

Continuity: The pictures of Fred's kids appear in his wallet between shots when Roxie looks.

Continuity: In the scene near the end where Roxy is auditioning she gets off the stage and there is a cleaner in the background sweeping. In the next shot the cleaner is right back where he started.

Continuity: Towards the start of 'Cell Block Tango,' during the line 'If you'd have seen it,' you see Annie holding the bars with her left hand. In the next shot, she's holding them with her right.

Continuity: Just before Kitty Baxter shoots the 2nd woman sleeping with her husband, she gets a 2-handed grip on the gun. But in the next shot, she is holding the gun 1-handed and once again gets a 2-handed grip.

Continuity: During John C. Reilly's number "Mr. Cellophane", the spotlight angle switches between shots from directly over his head, to in front of him.

Continuity: In the final scene when Velma and Roxie are performing, there is lipstick on Roxie's teeth. In the next shot it has disappeared.

Factual error: As Roxie is being escorted into the murderers' row, Mama and Roxie pass Velma's cell. The dollar Velma gives Mama is a modern one.

Continuity: After Roxie shoots Fred Casely, a photographer takes a picture of the body and in the flash from the camera, you can see Fred's eyes are closed and his head is facing straight up. After Roxie's 'Funny Honey' number, the attorney interrogates her and uncovers the body for a neighbor to identify it. When he does this, you can see that Fred's eyes are open and his head is tilted to the side.

Factual error: The innocent murderess, Katalin Hunyák, is supposed to be Hungarian. Nevertheless, in Cell Block Tango, she tells her story with such a heavy Russian accent that it makes the story almost unintelligible (I'm Hungarian so I know it). Thereafter, when Billy passes by, she begs for help in Russian ("Pozhaluysta" - "Please"). The actress who plays Hunyák is Russian, this explains a lot, but why couldn't they find someone Hungarian for that role?

Continuity: Near the end of the movie, after Roxie's audition, Velma is pitching her act again when Roxie puts on her coat and buttons it. The camera cuts back to Velma for a minute, then when it cuts back to Roxie her coat is unbuttoned, then seconds later she is walking through a door and her coat is buttoned again.

Continuity: In the scene in which Roxie shoots her lover, he looks into her mirror whilst putting on his tie. He ties it, then puts down his collar. He turns away from the mirror and there's a shot of his back. His collar is up again.

Continuity: In Roxie's first press conference, in certain shots you can see a bit of misting. In others you don't. This suggests that the scene was shot over several days or at different times of the day.

Revealing: If you look closely at Billy Flynn in the musical number "All I Care About is Love", right at the end when he takes off the boxers, you can see that he is wearing underwear underneath them.

Continuity: In the final dance scene with Velma at the Chicago Theater, Roxie's shoes change between the early shots and later ones.

Revealing: In the final dance sequence of The Cell Block Tango, watch Liz (Pop). When everyone else high-kicks, she only kicks out.

Continuity: In the final dance scene, there are supports on the ground for the machine guns when Roxie and Velma are not holding the guns. These supports disappear when Roxie and Velma are holding the guns.

Continuity: When posing for the photographers at Roxie's trial, whenever we see Billy and Roxie from the front, Billy has his arm all the way around Roxie with his hand resting on her stomach. Yet whenever we see them from behind, his hand is resting in the middle of her back.

Continuity: In the scene where Roxie gives Velma her laundry the money in Velma's top moves from hardly seen to almost all the way out.

Continuity: In the scene where Velma offers Roxy some chocolates, Velma puts the box down on her left. In the next shot, it is at the corner of the table, on Velma's right, with the long side facing Roxy. In the next shot the short side is facing Roxy, then the long side again.

Continuity: At Roxie's trial when Billy is examining Amos and talking about Roxie's baby, during the close-ups of Amos, the camera goes to Billy when he's asking a question and Amos when he's answering a question. When Billy is ranting about Amos not even asking Roxie if he was the father, during the shots of Amos, Billy is MUCH closer to the witness stand than when the camera goes to his shots.

Visible crew/equipment: In the "Roxie" number, just after Roxie sings "that means somebody everyone knows" she goes down a line of mirrors and as she does you can see three crew members with what looks to be a camera in front of the middle one. Their figures are somewhat dark, so it's a bit hard to see, but it's there.

Continuity: When Velma approaches Roxie with some chocolates, she offers her one. Her fingers are under the box, and her thumb on the top, but when the camera changes angle to face Roxie, Velma's thumb is on the side of the box. When the camera goes back to focus on Velma, her thumb is back on the top.