Best drama movie mistakes of 1973

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The Day of the Jackal picture

Other mistake: Interior Minister Roger Frey advises Commissioner Lebel that all members of the police, military and other security forces attending the ceremonies on the day the Jackal is expected to strike will be issued with lapel badges at the last moment, in case he is going to try to masquerade as one of them. We see hundreds of such people in the next part of the film, including Lebel himself and the CRS private who allows the heavily disguised Jackal through the barricades around the site of the ceremony DeGaulle is due to attend. Only the CRS private wears a lapel badge. Not one of the other police or military officers in attendance is wearing a lapel badge of any kind. (01:58:15)

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The Wicker Man picture

Other mistake: During his conversation with the landlord of the pub he ends up staying in, Sergeant Howie makes it clear that he did not intend to stay on Summerisle overnight, that he had been delayed and so needed accommodation. Makes you wonder why he packed his pyjamas. He's wearing them when Britt Ecklund does her famous naked song and dance routine, and they are not new so we know he didn't buy them that day. When he arrived he didn't even think he'd be on Summerisle for more than a few hours - we don't see him with so much as an overnight bag.

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Papillon picture

Visible crew/equipment: In the last scene where the main character escapes, he jumps into the bay and is supported by a sack which he is carrying. Actually you can clearly see that he is supported from underneath by a diver.

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Magnum Force picture

Visible crew/equipment: After Callahan removes the bomb from his mailbox, he looks up at a man on the nearby stairs. As a car drives by on the street, the lights from it cast the shadow of the boom operator onto the wall.

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American Graffiti picture

Continuity mistake: When Falfa's Chevy flips over, we can see that it has no fuel tank at all in it. However, in the next shot the car now has a visible fuel tank, and it explodes.

RJR99SS

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Paperback Hero picture

Continuity mistake: In the first scene where the truck drives along the road, if you look in the top right hand corner you can see the shadow of the helicopter that was filming the shot.

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Charley Varrick picture

Plot hole: Swapping his dental X-ray records with his deceased partner won't convince anyone that Varrick is dead - then (as now) the patient's name appears on the X-ray.

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Bang the Drum Slowly picture

Continuity mistake: In some of the locker room scenes, the overhead boom microphone is visible, and clearly shaking.

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Enter the Dragon picture

Other mistake: In the intense outdoor battle scene at the end, when Bruce kicks a guy in the face three times in a row, one of the extras in the background cracks up laughing.

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White Lightning picture White Lightning mistake picture

Continuity mistake: Close-up interior shots show that Gator's brown Ford has a Hurst floor-shifter and manual transmission. But when he arrives at his parent's home, he very obviously puts the column-mounted automatic shifter into 'Park'. (00:17:10)

johnrosa

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Emperor of the North Pole picture

Factual error: On the night of 19 October 1933 the railroad workers begin betting whether A-One will make it to Portland on the 19. A quick closeup of the money changing hands reveals the $1's to have the Great Seal reverse (introduced in 1935) plus the motto IN GOD WE TRUST (introduced in 1957). Also, the green-seal Federal Reserve Notes and the red-seal United States $2 notes are of the types first introduced in 1934.

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The Seven-Ups picture

Revealing mistake: When the Grand Ville turns onto the street where the children are playing, it clips a parked car as it makes the turn. This is the same car that later gets its driver's door ripped off by the Grand Ville just before the police give chase. It was repainted red for the second scene, but note the same dent in the right fender as before.

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High Plains Drifter picture

Factual error: When Clint Eastwood first goes to the barber shop, the barber very deliberately sharpens his razor the wrong way, flipping the blade with its sharp edge against the strop - this would instantly dull the blade. No real barber would make this mistake, but it's a common movie error.

Charles Austin Miller

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Walking Tall picture

Revealing mistake: When the bad sheriff tries to run Buford Pusser over, he drives off the road and the car explodes for no reason. It's in the air when it explodes, there's no way it could have exploded without hitting the ground.

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Breezy picture

Continuity mistake: In one scene the actress is wearing a tight fitting sweater which clearly shows that she is wearing a bra. In the next shot she stands up to say she is off to have a shower, whips off her top and - you've guessed it - no bra!

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That'll Be the Day picture

Factual error: The records played in the fairground sequence "Sealed with a kiss" by Brian Hyland and "Runaway" by Del Shannon date from the early sixties, while this part of the film is set in 1959.

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Soylent Green picture

Continuity mistake: Shortly before Sol's death, Thorn rushes into the suicide center and talks to him from the control room above. When Sol pleads Thorn to listen, there's interference on the intercom. Now watch the control panel: The earphone cable on the left side dangles back and forth each time the "speaking permitted" sign flashes on and off, blatantly revealing the cheap trick they used to make the display flashing - they simply toggled the "on" and "off" frames. (01:17:30)

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Paper Moon picture

Continuity mistake: Trixie Delight's room number in the hotel is 235, but when Imogene and Addie go to Addie's hotel room, which is right next to Trixie's, the number on the door says 235, too.

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Executive Action picture

Factual error: The kid is wearing a Texas Rangers baseball cap. The Rangers didn't come to Texas until 1972.

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