Gone With The Wind (1939) - 59 mistakes

Factual error: Scarlett is seen walking on the main street on the way to the hospital. You can clearly see a light bulb in one of the street lights.

Continuity: In the scene where Scarlett is talking to Ashley about owing the carpet bagger 300 dollars right before Ashley kisses her you can see a definite change. Ashley has different dirt on his face and Scarlett's dress looks lighter. Her hair is also loose in different places.

Factual error: In the scene where Ashley is brought back wounded from the raid where Scarlett's husband Mr Kennedy was killed, Melanie grabs a lamp to follow the man carrying Ashley to the bedroom and you can see an electrical cord hanging down from it.

Continuity: The shadow scene in which Scarlett and Melanie care for the wounded in the Atlanta hospital was filmed with two doubles. Since Leigh and de Havilland were standing at the wrong angle to cast the shadows, two stand-ins were positioned in front of the high-intensity light. The shadows of the doubles were reflected on the wall behind the stars, and the result was a stunning visual effect. Yet upon a closer look, the gestures of the stand-ins are not totally synchronised with the movements of the stars.

Continuity: When Scarlett is attacked in the woods on a bridge while on her way to the lumber mill the buggy very nearly goes off of the bridge backwards. Then Scarlett faints, but when the camera returns to the full shot of the buggy, suddenly it is squarely in the middle of the bridge and in no danger at all of falling over the edge.

Continuity: In the scene showing guests arriving at the Wilkes' barbecue, you see buggies and carriages driving through the front gates and up the drive toward the Wilkes' home. The carriages clearly create shadows on the ground, but not on the stone pillars of the gates. This is because when the movie was filmed, there were no actual gates. The gates were later "painted" into the frame.  Proving someone forgot to "paint" shadows onto the pillars.

Other: The credits for the Tarleton brothers in the opening credits have the twins switched with their actors. George Reeves doesn't play Brent, he plays Stuart. You know this because in the opening scene the two boys are talking about the party and asking Scarlett for dances, and George Reeves points at his brother and calls him "Brent."

Continuity: During the burning of Atlanta scene, Rhett and Scarlett are escaping in a wagon. The horse stops, spooked by the fire, so Rhett throws Scarlett's shawl over the horse's eyes. The mistake is that as soon as Rhett grabs the reins, the horse throws off the shawl, and suddenly no longer is afraid of the fire.

Continuity: In the scene when Rhett is saying goodbye to Scarlett before he leaves her on the road to Tara alone, he throws his hat behind him onto the road and takes Scarlett into his arms.  However, a few moments later, he picks the hat up from the fence at his side along with his coat.

Continuity: When Rhett stops the carriage on the bridge at the turn for Tara, he pulls the brake to keep the carriage from moving. When Scarlett drives off in the carriage, she does not release the brake.

Continuity: When Scarlett and her father talk in the setting sun his riding whip casts a shadow on her face although the sun is in their back.

Continuity: When Gerald O'Hara comes back from his afternoon ride he meets Scarlett in the fields. In the middle of the conversation, while they are walking along, the formerly bright sky all of a sudden turns to a dusky red, and Scarlett has a new hairdo that covers her ears.

Continuity: When Aunt Pittipat serves her last Madeira Uncle Peter is standing on her left. Then the camera angle changes to a close-up on her, and in the next wide shot Uncle Peter is standing on her right.

Continuity: While our protagonists flee from the burning Atlanta the carriage stops. A bearded soldier walks by carrying another man. A few moments later the camera focuses on a young man who collapses and is being picked up by exactly the same guy who was carrying him already. The mistake wouldn't be as pronounced if it weren't been one of the few instances where action by extras is highlighted.

Visible crew/equipment: When the O'Hara family does their prayer you see two boom mike shadows on the ceiling.

Audio problem: After Scarlett leaves the hospital in disgust she runs into Rhett. When she climbs into his buggy she asks him if he can take her to her Aunt's, but her lips aren't moving.

Continuity: When Scarlett sees Frank Kennedy while she's working in the hospital, there is something on the left side of Frank's face in the close up shot of him. In the next shot that shows Scarlett and Frank, it is no longer there.

Continuity: When Scarlett is flirting with the Tarleton twins dogs and horses in the background appear and disappear in a very discontinuous way.

Revealing: When the carriages arrive at Twelve Oaks they turn transparent halfway down the driveway.

Continuity: When Rhett visits Scarlett after Frank Kennedy's death she keeps weeping into her handkerchief. But all of a sudden there is no handkerchief and she is wiping her nose with her hands.

Continuity: When Scarlett shoots the Yankee intruder her bun is tied into a hairnet. When she searches his body and drags him away the net covers most of her head.

Revealing: After Rhett tells Scarlett that he doesn't give a damn, she's just inside the front door and places her hand on leading edge of the door, which moves when she touches it to support herself.

Continuity: When Scarlett fights with the two men on the bridge she loses her hat. When she drives off her head is still bare, but but seen from behind in the next shot the hat is back. When Big Sam catches up with her the hat is gone again.

Continuity: After Frank Kennedy's death Scarlett is drinking in her bedroom. She takes his picture, which is standing on the dressing table, and turns it on its face. In one close-up shot this picture is placed on a piece of lace, in all others not. When she finally leaves the room the picture is gone completely, and also all other things on the dresswing table are rearranged.

Continuity: In the scene where Bonnie dies, Scarlett is sitting down drinking a cup of tea. She puts the cup on the table and stands up. When we see the next shot from behind, the table is clearly visible and the cup is gone.

Continuity: After Scarlett overhears the girls gossiping about her, the first "Yee-hoo!" from the men is heard, and Scarlett looks dismayed and about to cry. Her facial expression completely changes in the very next shot; to a sly, queer look.

Revealing: When Scarlett finds Twelve Oaks completely destroyed, the carriage in the background is not real. As Scarlett walks toward the staircase, both the carriage and Prissy are not real, it is just a picture that has been painted to make it look like they are sitting there.

Continuity: In the scene where Bonnie and Rhett have just arrived back from London, Bonnie runs up the stairs to greet her Mom, arms flying all over the place. In the next shot, Bonnie is holding the kitten that Rhett bought her.

Continuity: When Rhett and Scarlett go up to Melanie's room to get her out of the house and take her to Tara the hallway and staircase are fully lit. When they come down again all lights are off, although there was no one downstairs to put them out.

Continuity: At the beginning of part 2 Scarlett walks by her sisters who are working in the field, carrying two water buckets. They start arguing, and Scarlett slaps Suellen, without any indication that she had put the buckets down. In the next shot we see her bending forward to pick up the buckets again.

Continuity: When Scarlett is being attacked on the bridge by the two thugs Big Sam comes and saves her. He throws one of the guys into the water, which all of a sudden has developed from a mere trickle to a remarkable river.

Audio problem: When Scarlett and Mammy discuss how to raise $300 for taxes Scarlett mentions Rhett. Mammy asks "Who that? A Yankee?" without moving her lips.

Continuity: When Aunt Pittipat leaves Atlanta Scarlett and Dr. Meade are standing in the walkway to the house and talking. The moment the aunt drives off Scarlett is standing all by herself (and loudly cursing Melanie and her baby).

Continuity: When Rhett pours Mammy a drink on the day of Bonnie's birth he has a cigar in his mouth. When the camera angle changes he is holding the cigar in the hand that holds the glass.

Continuity: When Scarlett undresses for her nap after the 12 Oaks barbecue, she unties a small bustle from around her waist. She didn't have this bustle on when Mammy helped her dress for the barbecue earlier that morning.

Continuity: When Scarlett is attacked in the woods, Big Sam drives her carriage out of danger.   When the scene cuts to a far shot of the carriage driving through the woods, Big Sam is no longer with her.  She is driving it by herself.

Continuity: When the protagonists drive through the burning Atlanta a few looters are after the horse. Rhett knocks down on of them while the buggy is still moving, and in the next shot they are back at the spot where they were was before the guy attacked them.

Continuity: In the scene where Gerald gets on his horse to chase after Jonas Wilkerson, Suellen and Carreen run outside to see what is going on. The door is left open when they come out, but in the next shot that shows Scarlett yelling for Gerald to come back, Suellen and Carreen are no longer outside and the door is closed.

Revealing: When Scarlett runs out of the Wilkes's house calling for Rhett after Melanie dies, she bumps into a pillar that supposedly helps support the house/porch. The pillar wriggles quite violently at her touch, revealing it as a simple stage prop and not part of the house.

Revealing: When Rhett picks up newborn Bonnie from her bassinet, you can see that he picks up a doll, not a real baby.

Continuity: While Gerald is speaking to Scarlett about Tara and land, the close-up shot shows that his hand and riding crop are up near her shoulder. When the shot changes to the wide angle with the matte painting background, his arm is down near her waist.

Continuity: In the scene where Scarlett shoots the Yankee deserter, look at the large window at the top of the staircase. Not only is the glass strangely opaque, but there is the silouhette of a tree being cast on it from a tree which is obviously directly outside the window. When Melanie opens the window to call out to Suellen and Carreen, the tree is not only about 15 feet from the window, its also significantly shorter than you would expect from its shadow. In fact, it comes nowhere near as far as the window ledge, let alone the window itself.

Revealing: There is a very short scene in the second half of the film where Mrs Meade and Dolly Merriweather are sitting at a tea table gossiping about Scarlett's behaviour. There is a teapot in the middle of the table, and Dolly Merriweather is sitting behind it. Yet the teapot is casting a shadow on the wall and Mrs. Merriweather isn't.

Factual error: In the very short scene in "London" between Rhett, Bonnie Blue and the nanny, Big Ben is visible outside the window, with the Houses of Parliament on its left. In order to have this view, the room must be inside St. Thomas' Hospital.

Continuity: When Uncle Peter is chasing Aunt Pittipat's last rooster the poor creature passes by the same stack of wood twice in successive shots.

Continuity: Scarlett, Melanie, and Mrs. Meade leave the hospital when Belle Watling approaches them to donate some money. Throughout the scene the three women are standing close to each other, but when Belle drives off Scarlett is standing by herself even though the camera does a scan around her.

Continuity: Prissy comes to Belle Watling's place to ask Rhett for help. They talk while he is looking out of the 2nd-floor window and she is standing in the street. When the camera points down to her from Rhett's perspective she is standing next to a streetlight that wasn't there when she came to the house.

Continuity: After Ashley has been shot during the raid of the shantytown Scarlett sits on his bed, holding his hand against her bosom. When Rhett asks her if she isn't interested in her husband's fate she is seen from the front, with no sign of Ashley's hand.

Revealing: After Frank Kennedy's death Scarlett is sitting in her room, "mourning" and drinking. When she hears Rhett's carriage she goes to the window. In this moment you see shadows, either from crew members or equipment, cast through the room, especially visible on the bottle on the table. There is also some funny shift of the backdrop outside the window.

Continuity: When Rhett picks up Melanie from her bed to take her out of Atlanta he is not wearing a hat, but in the next shot it is on his head.

Revealing: When Bonnie has her fatal horse accident and breaks through the hurdle you see that the bars are pre-cut.It's a bit unrealistic anyway that they would break at such a soft impact - they should fall but not break.

Continuity: The morning that Rhett leaves for London, he tells Scarlett to get Bonnie's things packed right away. Scarlett pushes herself up into a sitting position on the bed with her arms, but in the very next shot, she's laying back against the pillows with her arms crossed. Then she pushes herself up again.

Continuity: When Scarlett is talking to Melanie before she dies, Melanie's "widow's peak" is obviously painted on.

Continuity: When Scarlett talks to Ashley about eloping to Mexico at some point she turns away from him. This move is seen from two angles, where in one her scarf covers one shoulder, in the other both.

Revealing: If you look closely at the lily Scarlett is holding in the very first scene of the film, you can see that it's artificial.

Audio problem: When Ashley leaves the house to go to the train station after his Christmas furlough, there is a shot of Scarlett at the window, watching him walk down the path. We hear her say, "When the war's over, Ashley. When the war's over", but visually, her mouth movements do not correspond to what she is saying, at all.

Continuity: When the Tarleton twins are flirting with Scarlett they're both holding glasses in their hands. When they all leave after a close-up shot on their faces there's no trace of a glass, neither in any hand or anywhere on the ground.

Continuity: When Melanie runs down the driveway to greet the returning Ashley both hands are down and she is holding on to her skirt. When the camera angle changes she's running with both hands up in the air.

Continuity: When Scarlett's father comes home to announce that the war is over Melanie is standing on the stairs with empty hands. When we see her next a moment later she is carrying her baby.