Best crime movie factual errors of all time

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Smokey and the Bandit picture

Factual error: When The Silver Tongued Devil contacts Bandit for a smokey report, he asks if the Bandit is "coming up on Fayetteville, on Interstate 82." Aside from the fact that Fayetteville, Arkansas is far off the direct route from Texarkana to Atlanta, Interstate 82 is about 1900 miles away from Fayetteville, in Washington state. In fact, at the time, there was no interstate highway at all near Fayetteville, Arkansas.

DavidCBohn

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La Confidential picture

Factual error: In the scene where Lt. Exley arrives at the Night Owl after the murder, the patrol officer is wearing a Safariland velcro-fastened handcuff case on his left hip. That style of rounded cuff case was not introduced until the early to mid 70s.

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The Assassination of Richard Nixon picture

Factual error: In 1973, directly after the scene where Sam had to chase the dog down the street, he sits in his apartment alone, watching Julie Nixon's wedding on TV. She was married in 1968.

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To Kill A Mockingbird picture

Factual error: The time period of the film is 1932. In the opening title sequence, you see someone playing with Crayola Crayons (I assume it's Scout). One of the Crayons is labeled "Melon". Binney & Smith didn't sell the Melon colored crayon until 1949. Crayons produced from 1903 to 1948 sold for a nickel and contained only eight colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, brown, and black.

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The Wicker Man picture

Factual error: While Sgt Howie (dressed as Punch) is being chased by the women, you can see autumn leaves on the grass, though the story is set on the 1st of May.

Will

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Fletch Lives picture

Factual error: While Fletch is riding with the bikers, they stop at a stop sign where a family in a station wagon roll up their windows in fear. A sign at a service center in the background is the Castaic Junction, which is in the greater Los Angeles area. The movie is supposed to be taking place in Louisiana. (01:12:35)

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Starsky & Hutch picture

Factual error: Right after the movie title is shown, you can see in the background a UPS truck. The only problem is that it has the new logo on the side of it. (00:02:00 - 00:06:00)

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Beverly Hills Cop II picture

Factual error: Ronnie Cox is shot in the heart at point blank range by Brigitte Neilsen, and it looks to me like she's using a large caliber handgun. Keeping track of the action of the film tells us that Cox is sitting up in bed chatting to his friends just three days later. What nonsense. Even if he did survive (unlikely) he'd still be in Post-Op Intensive Care at that stage. He wouldn't be conscious, let alone allowed visitors.

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Life picture

Factual error: As Ray is fighting the big inmate over the cornbread, Ray falls over, revealing a yellow patch on the bottom of his boot. That patch is the trademark of a Vibram sole. Vibram started using the yellow patch in 1965. The scene takes place in the 1930s.

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Sin City picture

Factual error: When Marv is talking with the Priest in the confessional, he cocks the hammer of his pistol as a means of interrogation. But in the next shot, the pistol is uncocked, without sufficient time for this to occur. In fact, the pistol is uncocked even when Marv shoots him. This cannot happen, since his pistol is a standard 1911 .45, which requires the hammer to be cocked in order to fire.

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Blow picture

Factual error: The year is 1969 when they steal the first aircraft (single engine Cessna), and there is a 757 taking off in the background. The 757 first flew on 02-19-82. (00:22:05)

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The Thomas Crown Affair picture

Factual error: The Monet stolen by TC is credited as being the first painting in the Impressionist school, a clear reference to Monet's "Impression: Sunrise" of 1872. However, the painting shown during the entire film is "San Giorgio Maggiore by Twilight," a 1906 Monet painting.

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Sister Act picture

Factual error: At the very end of the movie, the Pope gives the nuns a standing ovation. The other people seated in the box with him should have immediately risen at this time. Instead, the man seated to his left looks up at him, seeing that the pontiff has stood, but makes no movement to join him on his feet.

DavidK93

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Young Guns picture

Factual error: When Billy The Kid is taking a bath and dictating a letter to Doc, intended for the governor, he says he is in the Mexican village of Juarez. This town was actually named "Paso del Norte" at the time, it wasn't until 10 years after the events depicted in the film that it was renamed "Ciudad Juarez."

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Catwoman picture

Factual error: Laurel shoots her husband dead and gets the fingerprints of Catwoman on the gun. When Catwoman/Patience later is interrogated for the murder, they say that her fingerprints were on the weapon that killed George Hedare. In a case like this, they would surely do a test for gunshot residue on both Patience and Laurel. The lack of GSR on Patience would at least have created certain doubts.

Bulldozer

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S.W.A.T. picture

Factual error: In the scene where the Learjet takes off the jet starts to roll. Then there is the shooting with the SWAT team, towards the end of the shooting the pilot pushes the power levers forward to accelerate. Regarding the short take off run they had on the bridge, the pilot would have stayed on the brakes until the engines were at full thrust, then released the brakes, started rolling and wouldn't touch the power levers until after liftoff or in emergency.

Ronnie Bischof

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Escape from Alcatraz picture

Factual error: In the opening scene that shows San Francisco scenery there is a shot of a large TV tower called Sutro Tower. The film takes place in 1960 and Sutro Tower wasn't built until 1973.

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The Exorcism of Emily Rose picture

Factual error: During the credits, as the house is shown, a paper wasp nest is shown hanging from the eaves. Crawling all over it are honeybees, which do not live in paper nests.

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Fallen picture

Factual error: In the scene where Hobbes is talking to Reese in his cell, Reese talks to him in a foreign language. It's stated on at least two occasions that Reese is speaking Dutch. He isn't - he's speaking German.

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44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shoot-Out picture

Factual error: After the cops respond to the domestic disturbance (son hitting mom), we see the male officer get in the back with the boy to show him the crime scene photos and he shuts the door after getting in. Police cars are designed so that the back doors must be opened from outside, however, he exited the car with no help. (00:21:00)

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: Police cars just use the child safety lock on the side of door that prevents the back door being opened from inside. It's simple to turn them off so the doors can be opened from the inside.

Bishop73

However, as an active police car that has just arrested a suspect, the child lock would be on to prevent escape. The mistake remains valid.

Ssiscool

And it is worth noting that when Henry leaves the car he doesn't engage the lock but the suspect remains in the car.

Ssiscool

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