Best comedy movie factual errors of 1971

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The Abominable Dr. Phibes picture

Factual error: In keeping with the theme of the Ten Plagues of Egypt, Doctor Phibes has one of his victims eaten alive by locusts. Not likely. Locusts are strictly herbivorous, and like all herbivores locusts won't touch anything that moves. They would not be attracted by the slimy goo poured over their 'victim', because they zero in on plant pheromones and nothing else.

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Carry On at Your Convenience picture

Factual error: About ten minutes into the film, in the scene where there is a staff meeting deciding whether they should strike, the junior assistant talks about how much tea breaks cost the company each week. He says something along the lines of 'each member of staff has 18 toilet visits a day due to drinking tea. At four minutes a time this contributes to 72 minutes each day lost. This means we lose 15 hours a week due to visits to the toilet'. Even if the staff worked seven days a week, this would only amount to 8.4 hours lost.

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On the Buses picture

Factual error: When Blakey nearly catches Jack in turnaround Betty's house, Blakey tells them to get moving as they are late. At first they both go through the passenger door of the bus at the back before Stan goes round the front to drive, but the bus drives off too soon for Stan to walk to the front, climb in the cab, start the engine and drive off.

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Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory picture

Factual error: In every version of the story, including the book, in the scene where Augustus Gloop is sucked into the chocolate pipe, there's no pressure below him (it's an open river, with the pipe sticking into it) so the pressure must come from a vacuum at the top of the pipe. Augustus would have had his lungs and innards sucked out until he was thin enough to pass through the pipe. He would not have survived.

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

Suggested correction: In the book Charlie ask Mr. Wonka if all the other kids would be all right and he tells him yes they will.

This isn't a valid correction because the point of the mistake is that he wouldn't survive, as shown. At best you're saying Wonka lied to Charlie.

Bishop73

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Up Pompeii picture

Factual error: When Lurcio is dragging his ass through the market he passes several stalls which stock fruits and vegetables totally unknown to the Romans - potatoes, corn, papayas, mangoes and breadfruit amongst them. They were unknown in Europe during the time the film is set, and the Romans did not trade with anyone who knew about them, either.

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Summer of '42 picture

Factual error: When Dorthy comes to sunbathe on the beach, mountains of approximately 500 feet in elevation are seen but Nantucket Island's highest elevations are in the 100 foot range. (00:14:55)

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