Other mistake: When Arthur's father takes his ball away (just before Richard Collier signs the register), Richard is looking the other way while Arthur's father puts the ball somewhere behind the counter. Yet, when Richard decides to give Arthur his ball back, he reaches over the counter to the exact place Arthur's father placed it even though Richard never saw where it was placed. (00:54:30 - 00:57:10)
Somewhere In Time (1980)
1 other mistake - chronological order
Directed by: Jeannot Szwarc
Starring: Christopher Plummer, Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, Teresa Wright
Plot hole: Richard eventually manages to travel back in time by removing all the modern items from his room. But what about the spotlights above his bed? (00:31:40)
Older Elise: Come back to me.
Trivia: During filming, director Jeannot Szwarc had communication problems with both Christopher Reeve and Christopher Plummer. Every time he would say Chris, both Reeves and Plummer would respond. To put an end to it, he started addressing Christopher Plummer as "Mr. Plummer" and Christopher Reeve as "Bigfoot."
Question: When Richard accidentally pulls a coin out of his coat pocket, he sees that it's a penny and he is sent back to his own time. After being weakened upon his trip back to the future, why, after what was likely several days to get his full strength back, wasn't he able to return to the past? His mentor told him returning to his own time would leave him weakened but, given enough time to get it back, he could have gone back to the past again.
Answer: He was no longer able to put everything out of his mind, which was a requirement to successfully time-travel. He was distraught and unable to focus enough mentally. He stopped eating, and as time went on he became weaker and weaker.