A Bridge Too Far (1977)

Factual error: Most of the parachutes are PX type. These came out in the 1960s. They only used X type during the war - only a few of those are seen in the film. (00:07:00)

Continuity mistake: In a scene in a town on the rooftops as the British fight the Nazis, we see that the townsfolk were truly ahead of their times as they nearly all have television antennas.

Factual error: The shots of an air-strike on German artillery positions during the first armour encounter have used the Harvard aircraft (also known as T-6 Texans). However these were only used as advanced trainers by the Allied forces and never used in combat in the European theatre. One could assume from the theatrical paint jobs that the production team were attempting to disguise them as P47 Thunderbolts.

Trivia: The character of umbrella wielding Major Harry Carlyle was inspired by real life Major Allison Digby Tatham-Warter, who said that he 'carried the umbrella because he could never remember the password, and it would be quite obvious to anyone that the bloody fool carrying the umbrella could only be an Englishman'. Unlike Carlyle in the film, Major Tatham-Warter survived the battle and was captured by the Germans. He escaped, and in the weeks that followed, aided by Dutch Resistance, helped hundreds of other soldiers in similar situations to be evacuated to safety.

Gaff1981

Trivia: Director Richard Attenborough cameos as one of the lunatics watching the soldiers.

Gaff1981

Trivia: The Bridge in the film is not the one near Arnhem. It is a bridge over the river Ijsel near Deventer. This bridge stood in for Arnhem bridge as there was a car park adjacent to the bridge where a number of buildings were constructed for Col. Frost's epic stand. Also note the numerous modern traffic signs and roadmarkings.

German Aide: Excuse me for interrupting, but ... British paratroopers have apparently landed. Three kilometers from here.
Field Marshal Model: Why should they do that? There's nothing valuable here. I! I am valuable here! They have all come to capture me!

Question: In the scene where the American 82nd Airborne is storming the river bank at Nijmegen, there is a brief shot of one of the German defenders, who looks quite startingly like a puberescent boy. Anyone know whether this assumption is correct, and if so, what's the background to this story?

Daniel4646