Darkest Hour

Continuity mistake: When Churchill is delivering his first speech on May 13th, Neville Chamberlain places a handkerchief on his leg to use as a signal to his fellow MPs. During the speech you can see Chamberlain sitting a few places away from Churchill but the handkerchief is missing. Then, a short while later in the same scene, the handkerchief is back with Chamberlain's hand over it.

Rouseyboy

Factual error: When flying to France to have talks with the French premier a C47/Dakota is shown in the background intimating that it was the plane he came in. The C47 did not enter service with the RAF until after this period of the film with Lend Lease.

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Suggested correction: The aircraft could just as easily be the civilian version, the DC-3 which first flew in 1935, and was pressed into RAF service and repainted.

The RAF did not requisition civilian DC3s or DC2s. It is well recorded that Churchill flew to France in May 1940 in a de Havilland DH.95 Flamingo. Only 16 were built - de Havilland cancelling DH.95 production to make more Tiger Moths desperately needed for pilot training. The DH.95's were cannibalised for spares, the last scrapped in 1953, so the film production company may be excused for their C-47 use. Though a Lockheed Lodestar may have been a closer simile.

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Question: In the 'War Room' scene, there appeared to be a sheet of plastic or acetate covering the wall with the map of the enemy's movements. Was that premature for plastic to be available in that size for that time frame?

Myke

Answer: It was probably Perspex, an acrylic plastic commonly available at the time, used for, amongst other things, fighter plane cockpit canopies and windscreens.

stiiggy

Answer: It may be polyethylene, which was in wide use by the 1930s. Other plastics were also available at that time.

raywest

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