Factual error: When Mr. Gaunt puts the jacket on Hugh, he says it's 1955 all over again. The flashback occurs and Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire" is playing on the car stereo. However, "Great Balls of Fire" wasn't released until 1957.
Factual error: When Robert Bingham is shooting at Cal, an MPD (Washington, DC) squad car shows up. However, the scene is set in Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia, outside of MPD's jurisdiction. Arlington County Police would have responded instead. (01:13:05)
Factual error: In the scene in Costa's apartment after the failed baiting ploy, Costa describes himself as a loner who "bought a gun for a false sense of security", appeared to have had it with him during the evening, and gave the impression that he bought it after he witnessed the murder. Although IlIeana mightn't know, the Montreal police in the room might (should) have wondered about this. Even if legal, it is very difficult to acquire a restricted weapon (handgun) in Canada, the process taking one month to as many as six or more for clearance and permits, let alone courses and examinations. In addition, concealed carry of a weapon is prohibited for civilians. (01:00:25)
Factual error: When they show Alex's partner in the hospital his heart rate is showing 35 on the monitor. His heart rate is not that low from the EKG pattern.
Factual error: The dude handcuffed to the radiator has a single piece of duct tape across his mouth maybe 8 inches in length. The sweat and oils, and somebody just moving their mouth will break the tape free from their mouth. A person can scream all they want. To properly do it properly, a ball gag like the one used in Pulp Fiction needs to be used. A piece of tape does nothing, I've taped my own mouth to try it. (00:46:30 - 00:47:30)
Factual error: In the Bosphorus scenes, as the ferry crosses from the Asian to the European side of Istanbul, in the distance large trucks can be seen speeding along the coastal road opposite. Well before their time.
Factual error: Towards the end of the film, where St. John is trying to escape with Kim in his private jet, they are apparently attempting to take off from Santa Monica airport. When the camera shows the aircraft beginning its take off roll, the runway markings show that they are using runway 05L to take off from, however, the two runways available at Santa Monica airport are 03 and 21. (01:33:00)
Factual error: Riggs is shown using a laser-sight on his handgun throughout the entire movie. However, almost every single time he turns it on, the entire "beam" of the laser is visible, which doesn't happen in real life unless there is smoke/vapor/debris in the air. Obviously done for the sake of the audience seeing where the laser is pointed, but still a mistake.
Factual error: Adam Beck says "Kill the lights, unit one." They just don't shut off a main breaker but they cut the main wires. Then shortly afterwards the lights are back on again. It would have taken an electrician hours to replace the cut wires to the power. (01:44:25)
Factual error: The whole movie shows methamphetamine constricting their pupils. Methamphetamine is a central nervous system stimulant which dilates the pupils - the exact opposite of what is shown.
Factual error: When the "Little Wharvey Gals" are singing they show a shot of the crowd in which there is a man smoking a filtered cigarette. Cigarettes were not filtered until the late '40's.
Factual error: Near the end of the chase, when Buddy is ramming the bad guys' car, the scene is supposed to take place in New Jersey as they just crossed the George Washington Bridge. However we see a road sign for NY 100/133, indicating they are back in New York state on the Taconic State Parkway.
Factual error: At the beginning of the film, Nick gazes up at the Roosevelt Hotel. The camera pans up and we can count the number of floors - 18. Yet, during the film, Nick is purported to be on the 21st floor.
Factual error: George Cornell was killed in March 1966, but before and after the killing you see the Triumph Spitfire Reggie Kray bought for Frances, which carries a 1967 reg plate.
Factual error: When the plane takes off headed for Las Vegas, the shot out the window below shows runways 35 and 41. Runway 41 is impossible because ALL runways at airports are only numbered 1-36.
Factual error: The role of MI6 shown in the film actually falls under the purview of MI5, Britain's domestic intelligence service; as the country's version of the CIA, MI6's mandate is the covert collection of foreign intelligence overseas.
Factual error: Poirot attends a Halloween party in Venice in 1947. Halloween was never publicly recognized as a holiday in Venice or Italy in general in the XX century, especially with the traditional pumpkin-centered iconography. One could argue that, for the most part, Poirot is attending a private party organized by an American soprano. But, besides how unlikely it would be for 1947 Catholic nuns to take part in such a pagan-themed event, there are scenes showing Halloween decorations in the streets of Venice far away from the party location, as if it were a public holiday and not a private gathering from an eccentric foreigner.
Suggested correction: Besides what Oliver says to Poirot in the beginning about Americans bringing over Halloween to Italy, it's not true. Halloween has a European and Christian origin. A day called All Hallow's Day on November 1st has been a national holiday in Italy since the 9th century. There have always been activities in Italy the evening prior to All Hallow's day. This includes games, themes of death, carved pumpkins (turnips before), and masks ("guising"), all of which are very old traditions done all over Europe.
Being Italian and having lived in Italy for the past decades, may not make me an authority over all things Italian, but I can assure you that Ognissanti (which is what you quote as being "All Hallow's Day," since we obviously haven't been borrowing English names for our festivities) has never been observed as a national holiday with anything remotely close to what is shown here, which is, like Ariadne Oliver says, plain and simple Halloween. Like I said in the entry, it'd be perfectly fine for Americans to celebrate it, but no pumpkin banners in the public streets and parades with people shouting "Happy Halloween!" with nuns in full garb, no less! Halloween has never been celebrated here with any mainstream fanfare until the very, very recent years.
Factual error: The villain performs his hit at the beginning of the movie by remotely changing the GPS destination of a cab, so they head to the wrong place and into an ambush. Assuming that neither the cabbie or Pope notice the change on screen, and that his sophisticated software silenced the voice announcement of the course being recalculated, and makes the new place also marked as the old one (it is after all a god-like movie software), the trick is done on on a London black cab, whose drivers are notorious for "The Knowledge", aka being required to learn the entire topografy of the city in one of the most demanding training courses in the world, and not using GPS. It'd be definitely unlikely for the cab driver to be totally unaware, to the point of Pope himself noticing first that they are at the wrong place.
Factual error: Otisville Prison was not in the direction Monty's father was driving. He said he would take the Henry Hudson Parkway north and later continue on the Taconic Parkway. The Taconic runs due north toward Massachusetts on the east side of the Hudson River. Otisville is 30 miles west of the Hudson.
Factual error: Contrary to what the movie states, priests can be elected Pope - they are simply elevated to the rank of Bishop before taking the office.
Suggested correction: Him being only a priest was simply an excuse not to elect him. Those who did not want him to be pope were trying to find any reason to keep it from happening.
Any baptized Catholic male can be elected pope, although it has only happened once. Pope John XIX in the 11th century was a layman, ordained after his election.