Plot hole: The sergeant tells Stone that he only has to listen for a bell for an important communication coming through and will then alert the rest of Wildfire. Yet later, Dutton notices a message already printed out. So at a facility this important, the sergeant just ignores the machine if it prints out a message and doesn't ring? He has to have clearance to read them or they wouldn't print out where he is. It's a bit too convenient for the plot that he wouldn't visually check each message to make sure.
The Andromeda Strain (1971)
1 plot hole
Directed by: Robert Wise
Starring: Arthur Hill, David Wayne, James Olson, Kate Reid
Continuity mistake: When Stone and Levitt are examining the capsule, the angle of the camera changes each time the camera goes to a higher magnification. However, the following shot shows the camera mounted straight up and down with no joint to pivot for an angle change.
Dr. Jeremy Stone: Where have you been?
Dr. Mark Hall: Leavitt had a seizure.
Dr. Jeremy Stone: What?
Dr. Mark Hall: Epilepsy. The red light flashing at three-per-second brought on a fit. Why the hell didn't she tell us about it?
Dr. Jeremy Stone: Probably no top lab would have her if they knew. Insurance, prejudice, all that crap.
Dr. Mark Hall: From the Middle Ages.
Trivia: Unknown at the time, two future Star Trek references are made in this film. The director, Robert Wise, would go on to direct Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and at the end of the film when discussing the cloud seeding, a caption on the video monitor reads out "Nimbus 3". This was the name of the planet on which Sybok takes prisoners in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.
Question: If the Andromeda "Incident" at Piedmont and the facility were top secret, ever wonder what they did with the old man who knew of both? (I'm excluding the baby, since he can't talk or remember).
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Answer: The government would have concocted an official story about what happened in Piedmont - attributing it to some natural disaster. The old man had dementia, was alcoholic, and suffered a severe emotional trauma, so it's doubtful many would give much credence to anything he had to say. He was also confined to a small area of the Wildfire complex and was given minimal information about what it was or where he was at. In his confused mental state at the time, he probably would have remembered little about what actually happened.
raywest ★