Andrew Upton

22nd Mar 2024

Missing Link (2019)

The Elder: The people we don't want here are leaving! Force them to stay!

Andrew Upton

Continuity mistake: When Spud is shown tripping over the chair knocked over by Johnny at the end of the film, his feet are shown clear of it. When the shot changes as his men arrive to help him up, his feet are suddenly completely entangled within the framework.

Andrew Upton

Factual error: In the scenes set during 1918, Clive is shown wearing a typical late 1930s/WW2 military production British steel helmet with its distinctive canvas covered sprung chinstrap.

Andrew Upton

Factual error: Although set in 1860, virtually all the costumes/clothing in the film are far more typical of the later Victorian period. For example, the police are wearing cork helmets, tunics, and Duty Armlets with upright stripes. These items were not introduced into the Metropolitan Police until 1863, 1864, and 1886 respectively (and this would have been delayed further in a small backwater Cornish town). In 1860, they would be wearing top hats, swallow-tail coats, and Duty Armlets with horizontal stripes.

Andrew Upton

Revealing mistake: One of the burning zombies at the very end of the film is wearing the most terrible and obvious fire-proof mask and hair-piece, made all the more noticeable by being used so prominently in front of the camera several times.

Andrew Upton

Continuity mistake: The Squire's main henchman, Denver, ends up being pushed into a fire before being stabbed to death by Sir James. When Denver is first shown falling into the fire, he goes down face-first, with his left arm catching fire. The shot changes, and then suddenly he is face-up, and it is his right arm that is on fire.

Andrew Upton

Revealing mistake: When Sir James breaks into the house of Squire Hamilton, we are shown a long shot of the tin mine underground with the zombies being whipped by the Squire's men. Watch the back of the shot - several blows from one man hit a couple of the wooden props supposedly supporting the roof, which obviously wobble about and show they are just for decoration rather than any practical purpose.

Andrew Upton

Continuity mistake: Squire Hamilton and his men make an unsuccessful attempt to retrieve the zombified Alice. When Sir James and Dr Tompson return to her lying in the now open grave, a longer shot shows her already wearing her grey zombie makeup. When it changes to the close-up of her face, she appears normal again but is then shown changing into her grey zombie appearance before rising from the grave in an obvious continuation of the original longer shot of her in the open grave.

Andrew Upton

Revealing mistake: The zombie of John Martinus throws the lifeless body of Alice from the tin mine pit head onto the ground. When Sylvia examines the body after, Alice very obviously blinks. Visible at normal speed, but easier to see slowed down.

Andrew Upton

Continuity mistake: When Squire Hamilton causes Sylvia to cut her hand on broken glass, the amount she is shown to bleed is realistically very small. When he transfers it almost immediately into another glass container, it is suddenly and unrealistically a much larger amount.

Andrew Upton

Other mistake: When Sir James examines a book on witchcraft in the Vicar's library, it is a photographic reprint (more contemporary to 1966) of a much older, original book.

Andrew Upton

Continuity mistake: As Alice discusses Squire Hamilton at the Tompson house, we see Sylvia putting away some of her clothes into a wardrobe. She puts a large dress onto a hanger, and inside, which immediately disappears when the shot changes. She then puts another smaller item onto a hanger and inside, and when the shot changes, she can be seen putting the same item into the wardrobe again.

Andrew Upton

Continuity mistake: When Sir James and Sylvia arrive by coach at the Tompson home, the driver carries their baggage to the door. He is played by a younger actor with darker hair initially, but when the shot changes to the door of the house, he is suddenly being played by a noticeably older actor with grey hair yet wearing the same clothes and still carrying the same bags.

Andrew Upton

Factual error: The film begins in 1860, but the majority takes place 20 years later, so 1880. When James Rankin obtains files on the Haymarket Strangler/Edward Styles case we are shown another box labelled with details about Jack the Ripper, who wasn't active until 1888.

Andrew Upton

7th Apr 2022

Tolkien (2019)

Factual error: In 1915 Tolkien was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant with the Lancashire Fusiliers. He (plus various other officers) is constantly shown in the film wearing bright metal cap badge, collar badges and shoulder titles on his Service Dress tunic and greatcoat. However, in the Lancashire Fusiliers officers did not wear shoulder titles on their SD tunics/greatcoats, and their cap/collar badges would have been in a darkened bronze finish, not bright metal (which was for Other Ranks and NCO's).

Andrew Upton

4th Jan 2022

The War Below (2021)

Factual error: At the end of the film, Hellfire Jack returns the toy soldier to the son of the late William Hawkins in 1917. Hawkins son is shown taking it upstairs and placing it in front of a photo of his father, in between two medals. These are the British War and Victory Medals - these did not exist until 1919, and in most cases were not even issued until the 1920's.

Andrew Upton

Factual error: The plane used in the film to take Juliet back to London towards the end of the film is a replica of a Dakota C-47. She is painted with black and white "invasion stripes" on both the upper and lower surfaces of the wings - approved in May these were only widely put into use for D-Day in June 1944. After one month the upper surface stripes were ordered removed, and by the end of 1944 they were ordered completely removed. By 1946 when the film is set they would have been long gone from any serving aircraft still flying.

Andrew Upton

Factual error: There are a number of historical inaccuracies with the police uniforms used. The film is set in 1880, but the Duty Armlets with the alternating short blue/white vertical stripes were not introduced until 1886 (in 1880 they would have had three horizontal white stripes separated by two narrower blue stripes). Whistles are shown being carried, but they were not introduced until 1885 (they used rattles before then). The helmet plates have a generic VR on them when they should repeat the officer's collar number (eg P 129 in the case of Constable Flood).

Andrew Upton

Factual error: The film is set in the 1920's. When the policeman appears towards the end of the film on his helmet is a post-1952 helmet plate with the crown of Queen Elizabeth II.

Andrew Upton

4th Feb 2018

Suffragette (2015)

Factual error: Throughout the film, the helmet plates worn by the London Policemen are the 1930's pattern with the George V cypher in the centre. In 1912/13 they would have repeated the officer's collar number in the centre. The helmets themselves are also British military pattern blue cloth helmets with Police fittings added, rather than the correct Police pattern ones.

Andrew Upton

Continuity mistake: As Albert and Anna walk off at the end of the final gun fight, watch their arms. From the front they're only holding hands. They call the dog to them, and instantly the shot from behind shows them with their arms thoroughly wrapped around each other.

Andrew Upton

Continuity mistake: When Luther Blair and Captain Larson have been captured, the rest of the crew return to the ship. Later, Dr Higgins checks his watch. When the crew arrived at the planet they removed their spacesuits to reveal their short-sleeved shirts, yet the close up shows the watch below the long sleeve of his space suit, not just his bare skin.

Andrew Upton

27th Feb 2016

The Kid (1921)

Continuity mistake: After the fight between the Tramp, the Kid, the Bully and his young brother, our heroes retreat to the safety of their room. In the process the Kid drops his cap in the street and doesn't pick it up. When the shot cuts to the interior of their room the Kid suddenly has his cap once again.

Andrew Upton

Other mistake: It supposedly takes three weeks for the space ship to arrive at the 13th moon of Jupiter. Yet the people following their progress back on Earth stay in the same positions and clothing throughout all this time.

Andrew Upton

Continuity mistake: When Luther Blair rescues Captain Larson from his cell towards the end of the film they are both shown exiting the cell with pistols drawn and ready. When the shot cuts to the corridor outside both their pistols have now disappeared from their hands.

Andrew Upton

Visible crew/equipment: When the monster supposedly falls into a pit behind the altar at the end of the film, look at the left side. The mat the actor lands on visibly bounces into view.

Andrew Upton

23rd Feb 2016

The Kid (1921)

Continuity mistake: After the Tramp has found the Kid as a baby, he sits down by a drain and contemplates dropping the baby in. He puts his cane alongside him, so that it is at right-angles to the pavement (pointing towards the camera). The shot changes, and suddenly it is now parallel with the pavement.

Andrew Upton

14th Dec 2015

Django Unchained (2012)

Continuity mistake: When Django is shown looking at various hats, he tries on a top hat. It is level on the stand when he picks it up, and when he puts it back it is now at a noticeable slant. After some dialogue the shot comes back to include the hats and the top hat has become perfectly level once again.

Andrew Upton

20th Nov 2015

Sahara (1943)

Continuity mistake: When the German scouts at Bir Acroma are killed or captured, Gunn's men acquire a water cooled machine gun from their half-track. On the vehicle is a German 1908 Maxim in 7.92mm caliber. When it is shown being carried to the ruins it has now become a British Vickers Mk I in .303in caliber (which it generally stays as for the rest of the film) on its matching Mk IV tripod. And in a few shots showing the gun being fired from behind it is now a Browning M-1917 gun in .30in caliber.

Andrew Upton

Revealing mistake: Melina is supposed to have been killed in the fall at the party, yet in the final version of events shown she displays signs of life right up to the moment her body is disposed of at the building site (twitching closed eyes, chest rising and falling from breathing, neck pulsing, etc).

Andrew Upton

Revealing mistake: When Phil kills himself by throwing himself off the roof, in the shot of him supposedly hitting the ground it is painfully obvious that it is a dummy. Not only does it hit the ground completely rigidly but the wig on it even noticeably flies off on impact.

Andrew Upton

29th Oct 2015

Gunga Din (1939)

Factual error: The film is set during the late 1880's in India. The rifles/bayonets carried by all the British soldiers and Thuggee Indians are American 1890's Krag-Jorgensen rifles. Presumably done for ease of supplying American ammunition compared to British .303 ammunition.

Andrew Upton

Factual error: The red coated British Guards are always shown armed with No. 4 Lee-Enfield rifles. The film is set in 1887 - the No. 4 rifle did not come into use until WW2.

Andrew Upton

Revealing mistake: When Ray reminisces about having fought the Germans in WW2, a flashback is shown with him fighting in a bunker. He is carrying a No.4 Lee-Enfield rifle which requires the bolt to be worked after every shot to reload. However, he is shown firing two shots in rapid succession without moving his hands at all, revealing the shots to just be flashes added after filming.

Andrew Upton

28th Sep 2014

From Hell (2001)

Continuity mistake: Immediately after Abberline arrives at the yard where Annie Chapman's body is found, there is a shot of a photographer taking a picture of the scene from a nearby building. This shows Abberline's coat and hat already hanging from the fence. The shot changes, and we are then shown Abberline actually hanging them on the fence. After this, the position of the hat and coat vary in different shots, sometimes being very close together, other times with a noticeable gap between them.

Andrew Upton

Revealing mistake: When Friar Tuck hits his head on an over-hanging branch whilst on his cart, it is really obvious his head comes into contact much earlier than the added sound effect and his eventual reaction would suggest. Plus the branch bends and flexes backwards an awful lot - it's not resistant enough to knock someone out as depicted.

Andrew Upton

17th Oct 2013

Sahara (1995)

Revealing mistake: At the start of the film, Sergeant Gunn and another member of his tank crew take shelter in a shell hole as they are returning with fuel and spare parts. Watch the supposedly dead soldier hanging over the edge as they leap into it - he visibly reacts and moves his head.

Andrew Upton

17th Oct 2013

Sahara (1995)

Factual error: The cap badge worn by Captain Halliday of the RAMC is the Queen's crown version, which didn't come in to use until the 1950's. It is also made of brass, when it should be in a bronzed finish for officers.

Andrew Upton

Factual error: In the last British battle at Omdurman near the end of the film, the British bugler is shown wearing a Pattern 1903 bandoleer - not made until well after the film is set.

Andrew Upton

Factual error: When Kitchener is shown inspecting Harry's old regiment, one group of African or Egyptian troops is shown to be wearing the Pattern 1914 Infantry Equipment, not made until 1914 at the earliest. Additionally, it has the 1918 modification to have two closing straps, so is over 20 years too late for the 1894 date at that point.

Andrew Upton

12th Feb 2013

First Strike (1996)

Continuity mistake: In the Chinese parade towards the end of the film, at one point an enemy heavies attempt to capture Annie is blocked by Jackie on his stilts. In one shot the heavy is right up against the stilts, but as soon as the close-up cuts to a long shot he is now about 6-feet away from the stilts, which is the perfect distance for Jackie to kick him with a stilt.

Andrew Upton

9th Nov 2012

Skyfall (2012)

Skyfall mistake picture

Continuity mistake: As Bond chases Patrice over the rooftops of the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul at the start of the film, in the close ups of Daniel Craig his tie can be seen noticeably flapping over his shoulder (as you would expect). But in the long shots with the stuntman it doesn't move about at all, presumably having been fixed in place for safety. (00:04:40)

Andrew Upton

Continuity mistake: When Wonka's boat is about to depart, two shots are cut together, but the sound recorded of the second is used over both. This results in a clear view of the Oompa Loompa steering the boat with the boat's bell (and the rope to ring it) not being rung by anyone whilst you can hear it ringing - then the shot suddenly changes, and the Oompa Loompa is obviously ringing it in time to the sound.

Andrew Upton

Factual error: In the last British battle at Omdurman near the end of the film, the British bugler is shown wearing a Pattern 1903 bandolier - not made until at least 5 years after the film is set.

Andrew Upton

27th Jun 2011

The Four Feathers (1939)

Factual error: Towards the beginning of the film, when Kitchener is shown inspecting Harry's old regiment, one of the African or Egyptian troops is shown to be wearing the Pattern 1914 Infantry Equipment, not made until 1914 at the earliest. Additionally, it has the 1918 modification to have two closing straps, so is over 20 years too late for the 1894 date at that point.

Andrew Upton

7th Apr 2011

Dunkirk (1958)

Revealing mistake: When Corporal Bin's group of men eventually arrive at Dunkirk, they speak to a soldier adding sandbags to a Vicker's gun position. Here (and later on in the film when it is shown firing) it has a blank-firing adaptor prominently fitted to the front. Additionally the belt of ammunition shown going through it is filled with blanks - no bullets project outside the other side to that of the actual cartridge cases.

Andrew Upton

5th Apr 2011

Dunkirk (1958)

Factual error: The Sergeant-Major of the artillery section Corporal Bins and his men are briefly attached to has two of his medal ribbons round the wrong way. He has up the Victory and British War Medal ribbons, when they should be worn BWM and then VM. A mistake an experienced senior NCO would not make.

Andrew Upton

21st Mar 2011

Sea of Sand (1958)

Revealing mistake: Whenever our heroes are shown firing the Vickers guns on or off the vehicles, they are very obviously fitted with blank-fire adapters to the front. The belts of ammunition for them throughout the film are also blanks - the cases are visible, but the bullets that should project out the other side of the belt are not present.

Andrew Upton

Revealing mistake: Look at the table when the fakir's "severed" head is revealed during dinner at the end. It noticeably wobbles and moves about when he talks, showing his body is hidden underneath.

Andrew Upton

Other mistake: The fight at the end is unintentionally quite funny for the lack of enthusiasm shown by the extras playing the Burpers. They engage the British soldiers with some half-hearted fighting that's little more than jostling, and when they disengage the fight supposedly in fear and panic at seeing the "Men in Skirts" reveal themselves, most of them are quite slow and calm as they try and get through the narrow gate to escape.

Andrew Upton

Continuity mistake: Brother Belcher is shown ducking under the water line in the fountain when he and the others are revealed as the fake chiefs. When the shot cuts to the side, he is above the water line again but now completely wet. Then the shot cuts to the front again and he is shown coming up from below the waterline.

Andrew Upton

Factual error: After finding the soldiers slaughtered at the Khyber Pass, Sergeant Major Mcnutt and Private Widdle try to see off the Burpers with a "Maxim". The Maxims in use at this time look nothing like the gun they use, which appears to be loosely based on a Gatling gun. Additionally, it's mounted on a MkIV tripod, not introduced to the British Army until 1906, 11 years after the film is set.

Andrew Upton

13th Jun 2010

The Illusionist (2006)

Other mistake: Watch the Crown Princes body after he's shot himself in the head at the end of the film. As Inspector Uhl tells the men who broke in what happened, the Crown Prince is still breathing very heavily and noticeably.

Andrew Upton

Revealing mistake: Whilst imprisoned by the Burpers, Brother Belcher calls to one of the guards. The guard's supposed to have many missing teeth, but they have just been very obviously blacked to simulate this (a very common film or theatre trick, but usually not this obvious).

Andrew Upton

Factual error: The revolvers carried and used by Sir Sidney Ruff-Diamond, Captain Keene and Sergeant Major Mcnutt throughout the film (and particularly at the end fight) are Webley MkVI's, not introduced into the British Army until 1915, 20 years after the film is set. Additionally, the holsters Keene and Mcnutt carry them in are webbing holsters, not introduced until well after WW1 (1914-1918).

Andrew Upton

Continuity mistake: As the fake chiefs escape over a wall in the palace, the door they locked is shown being battered down by Burpers. From the inside shot it takes noticeable damage, and begins to come away from the wall on the hinged side. However, when the fakir opens it from the other side everything is now fixed, and it opens just fine, no signs of damage.

Andrew Upton

Factual error: Just before the planes start to cross the channel, we have a scene of a reporter with some British soldiers. They wear the cap and collar badges of the Royal Corps of Signals, which wasn't formed until 1920 - 10 years after the film is set.

Andrew Upton

Factual error: One of the questions Jamal has to answer is "Who invented the revolver?" to which the answer is given as Samuel Colt. Colt didn't invent the revolver, or even claim to invent it - he merely took a form which had existed for many years and substantially improved it. For example, Elisha H Collier patented a flintlock revolver in 1818 when Colt was only 4 years old which was produced in numbers for the British forces in India. More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisha_Collier.

Andrew Upton

4th Nov 2009

Oliver (1968)

Deliberate mistake: During "Consider Yourself", watch the meat-cutters - the cleavers they use never cut into the meat, just bounce off harmlessly. Obviously too dangerous to try and use real ones in such a crowded environment.

Andrew Upton

Other mistake: At the very beginning of the film, we see Christie commit a murder at the end of the Second World War whilst wearing the uniform of a Special Constable. Christie served during the First World War, and he wears the ribbons of the 1914 or 1914/15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal on his tunic. Unfortunately, whoever put them on put the bar upside down - they read from left to right VM, BWM, Star.

Andrew Upton

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