Operation Mincemeat

Factual error: Several times in the film, the street outside the flat of Jean Leslie is shown. Despite always being depicted at night, if you look carefully, the edges of the road are shown to have two parallel lines running alongside them. These are double yellow lines showing parking is generally prohibited most of the time. The film is set in the 1942/43 period, and double yellow lines were not introduced until the 1950s onwards.

Andrew Upton

Factual error: When Fleming salutes Cholmondeley and Montague, they return the compliment whilst not wearing their headdress. Members of the British armed forces never salute if they are not wearing a hat, instead they would stand to attention.

Factual error: All the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve officers appear to wear green branch distinction cloth ('lights') between their rank rings. Green indicated electrical officers. As non-specialist officers, they shouldn't be wearing any lights at all.

Necrothesp

More for Operation Mincemeat

Mistakes

Other mistake: The body of a man is dropped from a plane into the sea with fake documents to mislead Germans. To convince the enemy that he's a soldier, cause of death needs to pass for drowning. The first drowned corpse viewed has no legs, so Firth keeps looking. He's told that a man who took rat poison to end his life is a good fit since the poison is undetectable. However, no mention is made of the fact that there is no sea water in his lungs - something any coroner would discover. (01:43:40)

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

Suggested correction: Historical fact not a movie mistake! Operation Mincemeat - British intelligence obtained the body of Glyndwr Michael, who killed himself with rat poison, dressed him as an officer of the Royal Marines and placed items on him identifying him as Captain William Martin. They put letters on him strongly hinting that the Allies were going to invade Greece and Sardinia instead of Sicily. His body was set adrift off the coast of Spain, knowing it would be washed ashore. The film gets all this right.

Suggested correction: It is a fallacy that drowned people have seawater-filled lungs; usually, there will be a little seawater, which then irritates the lungs, causing inflammation and fluid buildup (pulmonary oedema), which dilutes any seawater traces. Also, by the way, one of the symptoms of phosphine poisoning (I believe the poison he took) is also pulmonary oedema. So it is understandable for one of the UK's top pathologists to choose this man as a possible subject.

More mistakes in Operation Mincemeat

Questions

Question: Is the Spanish flag seen on the building in Huelva the accurate one used during Franco's regime or the modern one?

Answer: During Franco's reign, 1938 to 1977, the flag (Rojigualda) had a different coat of arms, the Eagle of St. John, with 'Una Libre Grande' inscribed. It changed in 1945 to a bigger eagle, overall covering some of the red bands of the flag, so, as this is 1943, from what one can see, the flag is correct in the film.

Barndog

More questions & answers from Operation Mincemeat