Deliberate mistake: For dramatic and cinematic purposes, the floor of the court where the last scene takes place is wet, as opposed to the circle where Tony dies.
Continuity mistake: When Maria is hitting Tony while saying "Killer," her hair is across her left cheek. In the next shot, it is completely away from her face. (01:48:20)
Audio problem: During the opening overture, right when the orchestra starts "Maria", you can hear someone sneeze in the background. It's easier to hear on the soundtrack but you still can hear it in the movie.
Other mistake: During "Cool," there's a shot where they're doing a sort of knee turn, and you can see Tucker Smith in the background spinning too many times (you can see him start to stick out his arms to stop himself). (01:58:20)
Continuity mistake: Near the end of the movie, when Maria (Natalie Wood) is kneeling over Tony's (Richard Beymer) dead body, watch the cross around her neck. first it's sort of tucked into the top of her dress, then it is on the outside. it goes back and forth several times.
Continuity mistake: When Bernardo is piercing Baby John's ear, it's obviously just him and the Sharks, but then in the shot from above, you can see all the Jets running to the rescue. Also, Ice is already there, throwing a Shark off Baby John.
Continuity mistake: In the prologue, when the Jets are talking about Tony, Ice goes, "Man, remember them fists the day we clobbered the Emeralds." you can see A-Rab with his arms crossed. In the next shot they're uncrossed and he crosses them.
Continuity mistake: During the scene when the Jets and the Sharks are chasing each other around, when the jets are in shark territory, 4 boys get splashed with yellow paint. When all the boys are back on the playground nobody is covered in yellow paint.
Continuity mistake: In the scene right before "cool" when the two girls are crying, when they enter the garage their clothes are different.
Continuity mistake: The blonde guys snapping fingers, one with a violet t-shirt and the other with a red shirt, stand close to each other, but half a second later stand further apart.
Continuity mistake: While Maria sings "I feel pretty", she leaves the pink cloth next to the edge of a table. When the angle changes its position differs.
Continuity mistake: When Bernardo catches the basketball, the Jets are divided on two separate groups. Half a second later the next angle shows a closed single group.
Continuity mistake: Toward the end of the movie when Doc slaps Tony, Tony grabs his face. Then they show a behind shot of Tony and you can see his hand moving slowly away from his face. But when they show a front shot of Tony his hand is back on his face. (02:16:45)
Other mistake: When Anita sings, "and the natives steaming" her fingers get caught in the fringe of her dress. (00:50:05)
Continuity mistake: During the rumble, Riff slashes at Bernardo's shirt with his knife, and he spins away but you can't see any tear in his shirt. Then, in the next shot, when Riff is running toward him again, there's a noticeable cut in his shirt (on the back).
Continuity mistake: At the gym during the dance, Baby John tells Riff, "Pick up" when Bernardo and the Sharks come into the gym, and all the Jets stop dancing - except for Ice and Velma. Then in the next shot, Ice is suddenly in the big Jet mob, and Velma is off to the side with Graziella.
Continuity mistake: In the prologue of the movie, two guys on the Sharks throw yellow paint on Baby John, Arab, Action, and Snowboy. When they are talking to Lt. Shrank and Officer Krupke, they are all clean, but wearing the same clothes as earlier. (00:13:05)
Deliberate mistake: The knives at the rumble bend EVERY time they move.
Continuity mistake: In the playground, when the Jets stand up, the guy with the violet t-shirt stands up twice.
Continuity mistake: In the begining, when the Jets are snapping their fingers, the guy with the blue t-shirt has his arm against the fence. In the next shot he doesn't.
Answer: Officer Krupke and his partner pulled up in the squad car in front of Doc's earlier that night and asked the Jets why they were all there blocking the sidewalk, then mentioned that he knew they were cooking up something at the dance, and warned that he's coming back. Later, during the war council it's Lieutenant Schrank who shows up at Doc's. So how did Schrank know to show up there? Krupke could've told Schrank something may be going on at Doc's involving the two gangs.
Super Grover ★