Factual error: In the scene where Forrest Gump is wheeling Lt. Dan across a street between a bunch of taxis, the car they go behind is a 1973 Chevrolet Caprice (see the tail lights). However, several scenes later we know the year is 1971 because it is New Year's Eve 1971 because we see the TV flash 1972 as the year changes. (01:13:30)
Bishop73
30th Apr 2003
Forrest Gump (1994)
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: 1971 to 1976 was the second generation of these automobiles, with production of these models beginning in mid-1970. This car would absolutely have existed at the time depicted in the movie.
27th Aug 2001
Forrest Gump (1994)
Factual error: When Forrest and Lt. Dan first try catching shrimp on the new boat in the mid 70s, they catch a bunch of junk, including a Mello Yello can, which wasn't launched until 1979. (01:30:05)
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: The time frame is right on track. It took Dan a lot of years to get to the point where he joined Forrest on the boat. 1979 tracks with what comes before and after.
You should watch the film again. Hurricane Carmen, which happened after Lt. Dan joined, and they were struggling to catch anything, was in 1974. And Forrest leaves the shrimp business in 1975 when he finds out his mother is dying of cancer. 1979 comes well after all those events. Not to mention that it's only 1981 when Forrest is sitting on the bench telling his story.
19th Jul 2004
Forrest Gump (1994)
Question: When Forrest is introducing the members of his Platoon in Vietnam all of the character names are the names of cities, he then tells where each solider is from but their hometown is different then their nick name. (for example "Dallas from Phoenix") why would each person have a name of a city as their name?
Answer: This is just a bit of incidental humor. For example: Dallas is the young man's real name. Why would his parents name him Dallas if he was from Phoenix? Same with Cleveland.
Theyre just nicknames aren't they? Like Bubba.
Tex seems to be an obvious nickname, but Dallas and Cleveland are more than likely their real names since many people have those names.
Answer: Forest is mistaking their nicknames for their actual names, and misremembering where they were from. The soldiers are given nicknames based on where they are from. Tex from Texas, Dallas from Dallas. Etc. The funny bit is that Forest isn't putting it together.
There's nothing to indicate Dallas and Cleveland aren't their real names, just like Dan is his real name. The joke being he's remembering where those two are from but when it comes to Tex, an obvious nickname, he can't remember where he's from. Plus, why would a guy from Texas get the nickname Dallas and another guy from Texas get the nickname Tex and not the city he's from?
27th Feb 2021
Forrest Gump (1994)
Continuity mistake: At the beginning of the movie, before meeting Jenny, Forrest is sitting on a bus bench wearing the Nike shoes he received from Jenny and ran across the country in. When he arrives at Jenny's and crouches down to meet little Forrest, he's wearing brown loafers.
Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.
Suggested correction: It's certainly possible that he brought a nicer pair of shoes in his suitcase to change into when he arrived to her place.
Except nothing in the film suggest he had a chance to change shoes. He was so excited to see her and when he found out he's only 5 or 6 blocks away, he runs all the way to her apartment. It wouldn't be in his character to then stop and change shoes before knocking on her door.
If we look closely, those are just dirty shoes. Same ones Jenny gifted him.
Of course it would be in his "character." Forrest Gump was always a tuck in your shirt and straighten your tie kind of guy.
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.