Public Enemies

Revealing mistake: After a shootout with Baby Face Nelson at a hotel, Melvin Purvis converses with J. Edgar Hoover over the telephone. As he says, "Our type cannot get the job done." Watch the background. You can see a modern era train move along the tracks in the darkness. This is inconsistent with the film's setting of 1933/1934.

Revealing mistake: In an aerial shot of Lincoln Ave in Chicago outside the Biograph Theater the rubber mats laid on the road to look like 1930's brick streets only cover the middle 1/3rd of the street. On the outside 2/3s the street is modern asphalt and shows striping tape for bike lanes.

Revealing mistake: Just after the Little Bohemia scene when Melvin Purvis is shooting Baby Face Nelson, you can see a whole bunch of flashes going off in Nelson's jacket, which are obviously charges going off.

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Revealing mistake: In the scene where Dillinger breaks out of jail in Indiana, there is a shot of the getaway car and its license plate, and you can see that the license plate says "Historic Vehicle" on it.

Public Enemies mistake picture

Factual error: In one scene, focused on a period wood-staked pickup truck parked on the street, you can see clearly a modern Jeep Grand Cherokee parked on the other side of the street.

More mistakes in Public Enemies

John Dillinger: They ain't tough enough, smart enough or fast enough. I can hit any bank I want, any time. They got to be at every bank, all the time.

More quotes from Public Enemies

Trivia: One of the bank scenes were shot at the Little Bohemia Lodge, where there was an actual shoot-out between John Dillinger and the FBI in 1934.

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More trivia for Public Enemies

Question: How was John able to communicate to Billie where he'd pick her up when she left the apartment dressed like a man? Their phone was tapped so he had to tell her somehow. Also, in the beginning, who was the woman with the little boy who asked John to take them with?

More questions & answers from Public Enemies

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