Best movie factual errors of 1963

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The Great Escape picture

Factual error: Why is Hilts not wearing a uniform? A serving officer captured behind enemy lines in civilian clothing risked being shot as a spy. If a prisoner's uniform was too worn or damaged to wear, it was routine for the German authorities to replace it - a P.O.W. in civilian clothes is an obvious escape risk. He is wearing a pair of tan chinos, a cut off sloppy Joe sweatshirt, both ridiculously anachronistic - Sixties hipster fashions - and nowhere even close to a World War 2 uniform. He is also wearing Army Type III Service boots - something that would never have been issued to a fighter pilot.

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Cleopatra picture

Factual error: The Forum shown in that film is smaller than in real life. Also, Cleopatra is shown passing through the Arc of Contantine, a monument that was built centuries after her death.

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The Pink Panther picture

Factual error: The trial is of an Englishman (Sir Charles) in an Italian court after an lengthy investigation by the French police (Clouseau et al). Why are all cash amounts being given in dollars? No-one there uses them at all! (01:50:00)

jle

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Lord of the Flies picture

Factual error: Throughout the film, sea grape vines are seen all along the shore. Sea grapes do not grow in the Pacific, where the story takes place, only in the Caribbean where the film was made.

dave

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Carry On Cabby picture

Factual error: When the fleet of Glamcab Ford Cortinas drive out of their yard on the first day of business, some of the Cortinas are two door models, which wouldn't be legal for use as a taxi.

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From Russia With Love picture

Factual error: In the scene where James Bond is being given his "gadgets", Q points out that his rifle is an "AR-7 in .25 caliber". The AR-7 is a real rifle, but is only available in .22 Long Rifle caliber. Due to numerous design features, especially the screw-off barrel, it can't be made to fire a .25 caliber cartridge of any type. (00:22:05)

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Charade picture

Factual error: The sign outside the embassy reads "American Embassy", it should read "Embassy of the United States of America". North & South America are continents, not a country.

Sacha

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Bye Bye Birdie picture

Factual error: After Albert feeds the pill to the turtle, you see a close up of its eyes, which are blue. Turtles only have either brown or red eyes, not blue.

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McLintock! picture

Factual error: It's 1895, and the US Army is depicted using the venerable .45-70 trapdoor carbines. However two years earlier they upgraded to the Springfield Model 1893.

goofyfoot

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55 Days at Peking picture

Factual error: The weapons for this film, save for the American Krag-Jorgensen rifles, British Lee-Enfield MLE rifles, and German Mauser Gewehr 98 rifles, are completely wrong. The Russians, who had Mosin-Nagants, are portrayed with Mausers. The French are for the most part correctly poratrayed with Lebel Mle. 1886/93 rifles, but a few have Berthier rifles that weren't used until 1907. The Austro-Hungarians are portrayed with a mixture of Mausers and Berthiers when they would have had Mannlicher M88/90's or perhaps Mannlicher M95's. The Japanese are equipped with Mausers and would in reality have had Muratas. The Italians have a mix of Berthiers and Mausers, but would've used Vetterli-Vitali rifles. The Chinese Imperial troops and Boxers both have Gewehr 98 Mausers. Although they did indeed have Mausers, they had the far earlier Gewehr 71's and Gewehr 71/84's.

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The Sword in the Stone picture

Factual error: When Merlin and Arthur are squirrels Merlin says squirrels mate for life, which is not true. Squirrels are promiscuous.

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PT 109 picture

Factual error: All of the PT boats in this film are painted in the same Navy Gray used by larger warships of the US Navy in WWII. However, the real PT 109 and the other PTs in its squadron were painted green in order to better blend into their daytime anchorages or moorings near island jungles. The common green color scheme of this period was designated as "Design 5P" and incorporated Navy Green over a base coat of Ocean Green.

Charles Austin Miller

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Beach Party picture

Factual error: Anthropology Professor Robert Orwell Sutwell explains that his black kimono was a gift from "the Tokyo Fire Department." The seven characters embroidered on the kimono are Chinese, not Japanese.

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The Birds picture

Factual error: The firefighters arrive at the gas station and proceed to spray water on the fire. You cannot put out a gasoline fire with water; it requires firefighting foam. Water would only spread the fire even more.

mdwalker

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Spencer's Mountain picture

Factual error: When Clay Spencer and his brothers begin work on his dream house, they mix and pour the concrete for the foundation, then immediately begin putting up the framing. The concrete would have to cure for at least two weeks before the framing could be started.

mdwalker

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