Best thriller movie mistakes of 1971

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Duel picture

Visible crew/equipment: When Dennis Weaver is in the cafe a shadow of a cameraman is cast across the table he is sitting at. The shot then changes to a wider angle to reveal that there isn't anyone near him who could have cast that shadow.

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Diamonds Are Forever picture

Continuity mistake: When Bond escapes from the Willard Whyte facility in the desert in the moon buggy, a car that is chasing him goes over a ridge and turns on its side, as the buggy speeds by. A wheel rolls back into the shot, all on its own. It doesn't belong to the car or the three-wheelers also chasing, but looks like it belongs to the buggy, which has its full complement of wheels all through the scene.

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Dirty Harry picture

Continuity mistake: In the early scene when Harry walks across the street to confront the wounded robber on the street ("Did he fire six shots or only five?"), the shotgun used by the robber is lying several feet from the robber's hand, but when he reaches the robber, the camera shot shows the shotgun just a few inches from the robber's left hand. (00:13:00)

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The French Connection picture

Continuity mistake: When the drug tester gets done with testing the heroin, he blows out the lit candle on the bottom. But when there is a far shot of him talking, the candle is still burning.

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The Omega Man picture

Visible crew/equipment: Very early on in the movie, Neville is happily driving around the deserted streets. Half way through this scene the camera shows us Neville's view out the front windscreen of the car. Ahead, moving cars can be seen crossing the intersection, obviously where the streets hadn't been blocked off for the filming of the movie.

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Shaft picture Shaft mistake picture

Visible crew/equipment: When Bumpy hires Shaft to find his daughter, Bumpy gives Shaft an envelope with money, and when Shaft stands up you can see the bulge of the hidden microphone and wire at the front of Shaft's turtleneck sweater. When Bumpy leaves the office Shaft turns around and there's a bulge at the back of his waist, which is presumably the mic transmitter. (00:26:10)

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Straw Dogs picture

Continuity mistake: When Dustin Hoffman drives into town at great speed, he swerves around a tractor going in the opposite direction. He parks the car and exactly one minute later the same tractor drives towards him from the middle of town and heads off up the same road it had already travelled. To accomplish this, it must have turned around and driven back to town at about 90 mph - about 5 times its normal top speed.

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Get Carter picture

Continuity mistake: When Carter is shot at the very end of the film, his shot gun falls clear of his body. In the following shot as the sea washes around his body, his hand is resting on the gun.

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The Andromeda Strain picture

Continuity mistake: On Day 2, when the two officers go into the town's doctor's office, they leave the van with the driver's door way open, beyond 90 degrees, almost 180. The door didn't move to indicate it corrected itself as they went in. When they come out, the door is almost closed. And there has been no indication of a wind other than the helicopter, and that is supposed to be 1000 feet up and not even close to the office.

Scorpious

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Puppet on a Chain picture

Deliberate mistake: During the chase scene the boats pass under several bridges - most of them sporting crowds of onlookers. The film crew didn't bother to move them before shooting began.

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Play Misty For Me picture

Other mistake: When Clint Eastwood arrives at Jessica Walter's house and she has made him dinner, he gets very angry at her and storms out the door stating it's over and he never wants to see her again. He speeds off in his car. It only takes him 1 second to leave through the door, walk to the car, open the car door, start the car, and speed out of the scene making a very loud tire noise. Jessica Walters follows him to the door and we hear the car racing from the scene instantly.

Randy DeShong

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The Anderson Tapes picture The Anderson Tapes mistake picture

Other mistake: When the Mayflower truck is on the move picking everyone up for the heist, a mysterious hole appears above the truck's cab, cut out in the letter "o" in "Mayflower" when Pop is picked up, that wasn't there a moment before, and then it vanishes. The same thing occurs after the heist, when the truck crashes into the police cars.

Super Grover

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The Big Doll House picture

Plot hole: It seems unlikely that not even one state official of the Philippines would get suspicious at the high number of deaths in their state women's prison and have Warden Dietrich and her head guard Lucian investigated.

Rob245

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10 Rillington Place picture

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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