Where Eagles Dare

Revealing mistake: After the accident with the German car crashing into the pile of snow in which the Germans were killed, Schaffer first hangs an MP40 on his shoulder and then somehow pulls up a body with only one hand. And with the changing of the grip, (from chest to legs) the 'body' stands on his own feet to give Schaffer the time and opportunity to do it properly. (00:50:10)

HansMuziek

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

Suggested correction: Schaffer uses two hands to pick the body up his left hand grabs the body's right arm and his right hand grabs the body's tunic (under the body's chin).

Where Eagles Dare mistake picture

Revealing mistake: When the bus is being pursued, Smith steers it to trip several prepositioned explosives that blow up trees to block the road. In order to by pass a downed tree the Germans push a motorcycle around it, and you can plainly see that the tree was cut by a chainsaw. (02:18:40)

apcall

Revealing mistake: As the spy troupe prepares to leave by airplane, a Kübelwagen with soldiers comes up, which Burton shoots with his MP40. As the car bursts into flames, the driver and passengers are revealed as dummies, since no one could or would sit around quietly while they were on fire.

Revealing mistake: When the Allies are dropped from the plane into the snow and they find the dead soldier. Watch close, because the dead soldier blinks his eyes...

Where Eagles Dare mistake picture

Revealing mistake: After Smith and Schaffer are captured and while they are being transported by car, Schaffer pushes one of the guards out of the car and a struggle begins which causes the car to crash. After the crash, the body of the guard that was pushed out of the car magically appears about 50 feet behind the accident (just before the crash there was no body). (00:49:25)

apcall

Revealing mistake: When the cable car is seen in long shot coming down from the hill (carrying the film's heroes) it is painfully obvious that while the cable car is real enough, the mountain behind it is fake.

Revealing mistake: The team parachuted onto a mountain top while it has been snowing for some time, but when they go looking for Harris the missing radio operator, you can see footprints in the snow.

Continuity mistake: When the team are about to jump from the cable car into the river, the view from ground level shows a bare road with no snow on it on the right and a line of trees on the left with German trucks parked next to them, but the view from the cable car shows a snow-covered road and no trucks beside the trees. (02:06:00)

Greg McCreanor

More mistakes in Where Eagles Dare

Major John Smith: Lieutenant, in the next 15 minutes we have to create enough confusion to get out of here alive.
Lt. Morris Schaffer: Major, right now you got me about as confused as I ever hope to be.

More quotes from Where Eagles Dare

Trivia: When Mary goes undercover in the castle, her name is Maria Schenck. They are the middle names of Col Stauffenberg, the German officer played by Tom Cruise in Valkyrie, who tried to kill Hitler.

More trivia for Where Eagles Dare

Chosen answer: This is not unusual in older films. Earlier costume designers were less attentive to historical accuracy and freely incorporated current fashion trends into period movies. It was just an accepted practice and movie audiences back then were often less discerning and/or unaware of inaccuracies. Today's costumers have greater access to historical information, do more research, and strive for authenticity.

raywest

More questions & answers from Where Eagles Dare

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