Down Periscope (1996) - 29 mistakes

Factual error: When the submarine rises in the waters of Norfolk and you see Norfolk in the background, there is one blatant problem. There are NO mountains in Norfolk. Most of Norfolk, Virginia, is below sea level.

Visible crew/equipment: When Captain Dodge is sitting down to talk to Lake, you see the boom mic follow him down.

Factual error: On the type of submarine Dodge is commanding, you must climb up to the conning tower to use the periscope. The periscope is not accessible inside the sub itself.

Continuity: During the final chase scene, Captain Dodge says that it's overcast, and they surface. The first shot of the Stingray shows a hazy day. When the Orlando surfaces afterwards, it's clearly that one piece of stock footage of a Los Angeles-class submarine surfacing - not only is it sunny, but the ship shoots up from an emergency fast rise. After that, the shots of the Stingray in pursuit, and that of the torpedoes hitting the target ship, show it to be sunny rather than overcast. [It's not just stock footage of any old submarine surfacing. It is in fact the shot of the submarine in Tom Clancy's The Hunt For Red October surfacing - exactly the same footage. Some kind of in-joke, perhaps?]

Visible crew/equipment: When Stapanak is running to the engine room, the camera equipment at the bottom of the screen is visible.

Factual error: Stepanik is introduced in the crew boarding scene as an Engineman First Class, however in the homecoming scene, his uniform insignia is that of a Machinist's Mate First Class.

Visible crew/equipment: When Howard is starting the engine, he's stepping over the dolly track for the camera rig.

Continuity: Exterior shots of the Orlando switch back and forth between the older model 688 with the sail planes (fins) on the side of the tower to the new one with the planes on the bow.

Visible crew/equipment: When Dodge Say's "Good ole Graham" you can see the mic on top of the screen.

Audio problem: When Dodge and Jackson go outside to put the spotlight on the periscope, Jackson climbs up. He sings the Army theme, be all you can be. You hear Dodge say that's the army not the navy, but if you look at him when he says this, his doesn't even open his mouth.

Factual error: In the opening credits, when you see a submarine (presumably the Orlando) passing underneath a bridge, the sub is going south, away from the base, seeing as the base pictured is the Naval Submarine Base in Groton, CT. The sub is supposedly returning from being under the ice cap, according to Dodge in another scene, therefore, it's going the wrong way.

Continuity: When Dodge is in his room talking to Lt. Lake, he throws the towel on his bunk which can be seen in the mirror. A few seconds later back on Dodge the towel is now gone from the bunk.

Continuity: When Grammer is being taken by launch out to see his sub for the first time, you see between shots that he's going two different directions at different times of day. As they cut back and forth, one set of footage is a live shot, the other is against a screen. The end of the scene is a shot taken either in early morning or late afternoon whereas the preceding were more at midday.

Continuity: At 1:20:35, when Dodge gives the order to "ready torpedo tubes one and two", both tubes are already showing "ready to fire" in the panel above Dodge's shoulder.

Factual error: At the end, Lt Howard is calling cadence and gives the command "Crew Salute" for the Admiral. The correct command is "Present Arms". Howard would know this as he was Navy during WWII and the command hasn't changed since.

Continuity: Martin Pascals index finger goes from the lid of coffee to the side of can a couple of times while yelling at Buckman.

Factual error: In the final chase, Orlando surfaces to chase Stingray. WWII subs are considerably faster on the surface, but modern Los Angeles class subs are designed to spend 99% of the time underwater. Orlando must travel slower on the surface as her aft rudders are out of the water, decreasing her stability. On the surface, the greater the speed, the more difficult she is to steer. Her speed and handling on the surface would be greatly reduced. There's no way she would have surfaced to chase Stingray, as it would actually make it more difficult to catch her.

Continuity: Capt. Dodge (Kelsey Grammer) is on the deck of the sub and is sending a crewman up a ladder to attach a lamp onto the periscope. To attach it, he uses duct tape. However, when they show him climbing, the duct tape is still in Dodge's hand. Then, a second later, it is magically in the crewman's hand.

Continuity: When Grammer is welcoming his new crew on board, between the time the first crewman has walked up the gangplank and Grammer is talking to the second and receiving his papers and telling him to get on board, you can see that a third has already boarded and the number of envelopes held by the ensign has jumped from one to three.

Other: In the credits there is a name for a singing waitress named Annie Talbot. As far as I can tell, there is no singing waitress in this movie.

Factual error: It is said in the film that the Stingray is a Balao class submarine. The Stingray was actually a Salmon class submarine, and likely called a Balao class because the USS Pampanito, which stood in for the Stingray in the film, was a Balao class. Source: http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/2938.html.

Continuity: When the Admiral asks Dodge how he likes his new boat, the pencil holder on the admiral's desk has three pencils lined up. After Dodge says, "It's a complete piece of..." the pencils have moved.

Factual error: After the Stingray does the simulated attack in Charleston Harbor she launches a red flare. A green flare is used to indicate a "gotcha" in an exercise and would have been used there. A red flare indicates the submarine is in trouble and will attempt to surface.

Continuity: During the opening sequences when the admirals are debating giving Dodge a command, Admiral Graham says that "three years ago" Dodge brushed up against a Soviet sub off Murmansk and that "as an ensign" Dodge got so drunk he ended up with his tattoo. Yet in two conversations with Lt. Lake Dodge says the tattoo came after the Murmansk incident.

Factual error: There are numerous references to the word "quadrant," being substituted for "region." A quadrant is one-fourth of something. It is not a generic, military-sounding name for a region.

Factual error: Nitro could not have operated as a connection for the radio circuit. The human body is not conductive enough.

Factual error: As the crew leaves the Stingray in dress uniform near the end, Lieutenant Lake's Mary-Jane style heels are completely non-regulation. While many of the crew are misfits and don't properly wear the uniform (or cut their hair) anyway, Lake was a "by-the-book" officer consistently through the whole film. United States Code Title 10 > Subtitle A > Part II > Chapter 45 > Section 772 > Statute F specifically allows that "While portraying a member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps, an actor in a theatrical or motion-picture production may wear the uniform of that armed force if the portrayal does not tend to discredit that armed force" so the argument that actual uniforms cannot be worn in movies does not apply (here or ever).

Factual error: When the Orlando finally gets a shooting solution on the Stingray and the admiral calls to gloat, he is quite surprised when Dodge informs him he's already fired his torpedoes. In reality, the sonor man from the Orlando would have been screaming "Torpedo in the water!" as soon as the first left the Stingray.

Factual error: The uniform that LT Lake wears in the last scene is wrong. The Service Dress White Uniform for women includes a white shirt and black necktie. There is no way the Navy lets anyone walk around with visible cleavage. And before someone pulls out the "illegal to portray actual military uniforms" urban legend, please review United States Code Title 10 > Subtitle A > Part II > Chapter 45 > Section 772 > Statute F specifically allows "While portraying a member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps, an actor in a theatrical or motion-picture production may wear the uniform of that armed force if the portrayal does not tend to discredit that armed forces."