The Big Sleep

Continuity mistake: Marlowe says, "Geiger says these are gambling debts?" and Gen. Sternwood goes from holding his left hand in his right to holding his right hand in his left between shots. (00:08:30)

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Continuity mistake: Lash Canino's right arm is extended out in front of him as he shoots at Marlowe's car. In the next shot his elbow is at a 45-degree angle as Marlowe confronts him. (01:43:15)

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Continuity mistake: As Mona Mars throws the water in Marlowe's face some of it splashes on the back of the couch, leaving a stain. In the next shot the pillow to the right of Marlowe's head moves and the couch is dry. (01:39:00)

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Continuity mistake: Marlowe says to Lauren Bacall as she sits on his desk, "Then outside of what the woman said, you don't know any reason why they want five thousand dollars for it?". Lauren Bacall's right leg is higher than her left leg but then in the next shot they're reversed and her left leg is higher than her right. (00:34:30)

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Continuity mistake: Before the altercation with Art Huck, Marlowe goes to his car to get his gun and we see that there's no shrubbery on the right of it. Later he hides behind his car as Lash Canino holds Lauren Bacall hostage and there's a tree right next to him. (01:41:40 - 01:43:10)

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Continuity mistake: Marlowe goes home after snooping around Geiger's house and we see the number 206 on his door with the words "Philip Marlowe, Private Investigator" underneath. Later when Inspector Bernie Ohls knocks on the door we see only the number 206 on it as Marlowe opens it. (00:29:20)

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Continuity mistake: When Lauren Bacall first meets Marlowe she's pouring a drink and the level of the liquid in the glass goes above her left index finger. In the next shot she's still pouring the drink and the liquid goes above her left index finger a second time. (00:10:00)

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Continuity mistake: In his office, Lauren Bacall talks about Carmen to Marlowe and says, "She was asleep when I left" and her hands are in her lap. In the next shot her left hand is scratching her knee. (00:34:05)

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Continuity mistake: In the Hollywood Public Library Marlowe writes "Chevalier Audubon" on the top of a piece of paper and starts writing something else on the second line. In the next shot he's writing on the top of the piece of paper again. (00:13:15)

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Continuity mistake: When Canino gets out of his car there are no tire tracks because the dirt underneath has been raked smooth. Later, when Art Huck runs away after Marlowe shoots, we see the same spot and tire tracks now appear under the rear tire. (01:41:30 - 01:42:10)

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Continuity mistake: Marlowe takes his hands off the steering wheel as he sits in his parked car waiting for Joe Brody's killer, Carol Lundgren, to walk by. In the next shot his left hand is back on the steering wheel. (00:57:35)

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Continuity mistake: When she first meets Marlowe, Lauren Bacall pours her drink and the flask on the liquor table moves to the left in front of the seltzer bottle between shots. (00:10:00)

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Continuity mistake: As they talk in Art Huck's living room, Lauren Bacall's cigarette has a nice long ash on it but in the next shot, when she puts it in Marlowe's mouth, there's no ash (1945 Version on DVD). (01:42:05)

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Continuity mistake: As Marlowe walks into room 428 in the Fulwider Building the light switch on the right of the door is lit up. In the next shot from the other side of the door it's not. (01:30:00)

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Continuity mistake: Inside Eddie Mars' nightclub Marlowe talks to one of the hostesses at the coat check counter. The strap on the pocketbook in front of him is on top of the counter but in the next shot as she walks away the strap is draped over the edge of the counter. (01:06:10)

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Continuity mistake: As she sits on his desk Marlowe asks Lauren Bacall, "You don't know any reason why they want $5,000 dollars for it?". At first he's touching the fingertips of both hands to each other then in the next shot his hands are folded. (00:34:25)

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Continuity mistake: Marlowe and Lauren Bacall are both sitting on his desk and as he gets up she has her left hand wide open and is twirling her ring with her right hand. In the next shot her hands are folded in her lap. (00:36:50)

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Continuity mistake: As Marlowe goes up to the front desk the librarian asks him, "Did you find what you wanted?" and another librarian is helping someone else. In the next shot that other librarian is not helping anyone and has her back towards the camera. (00:13:30)

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Continuity mistake: Art Huck runs away after Marlowe fires a warning shot at him coming out of the house. Marlowe watches him as he runs away but looks in the wrong direction behind his car instead of to the front left where we see him running. (01:42:15)

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Continuity mistake: After his car pulls up, Canino gets out and lights up a cigarette that he quickly throws to the ground when Lauren Bacal screams. Later, when Art Huck runs away after Marlowe shoots, we see that same spot again and the cigarette is now bent in half and in a different spot, almost under the car. (01:41:30)

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Other mistake: Marlowe fires several shots at Art Huck and Lash Canino but if you look at the chamber when he takes the gun out from under the dashboard, there are no bullets in it. (01:41:45)

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More mistakes in The Big Sleep

General Sternwood: Do you like orchids?
Philip Marlowe: Not particularly.
General Sternwood: Ugh. Nasty things. Their flesh is too much like the flesh of men, and their perfume has the rotten sweetness of corruption.

More quotes from The Big Sleep
More trivia for The Big Sleep

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