Bad Day at Black Rock

Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)

9 mistakes

(1 vote)

Continuity mistake: During the desert chase sequence, when our hero is run off the road by Ernest B. his missing arm is momentarily transposed when he steps from the jeep.

Revealing mistake: Whilst Spencer Tracy is driving the Jeep through the desert at high speed, during one of the long shots the rough terrain causes the vehicle to bounce violently; if you look carefully you can just make out the stunt-driver's "missing" arm coming out from beneath his jacket to help wrestle with the steering wheel.

James McPeake 1

Other mistake: In one scene a station wagon pulls up with a 300 to 400 pound dead deer draped over the hood. Later, as the shot changes, one of the hunters can be seen in the background easily carrying the obviously fake deer.

Continuity mistake: McReady drives back from the farm and gets rammed/chased by E. Borgnine. During the chase, Borgnine's car loses a headlight, which reappears at the end of the chase and again when he's parked back in the town.

Phillip Churchfield

Factual error: The opening scene shows Spencer Tracy on a crack streamliner in the desert east of Los Angeles, featuring red and orange coaches. Such equipment was used by the railroad on only two trains, neither of which crossed the desert east of Los Angeles, and both of which had matching red and orange locomotives. In the film the train is pulled by a dark gray locomotive normally used only to haul freight, and in a close-up shot the number in the locomotive is preceded by an X, which in the language of railroading refers to an extra train.

Continuity mistake: When Spencer arrives back in town in the jeep, he parks behind the car that EB was driving. Both cars are on the opposite side of the road that the hotel is on. When they show the damage on EB's car, it is on the same side of the road as the hotel.

Continuity mistake: The white handkerchief in the breast pocket of McCready's dark suit, which he wears throughout the film, changes position in just about every indoor/studio shot when it cuts to an outside shot. At one point it disappears altogether.

Doc T.R. Velie Jr.: They're gonna kill you with no hard feelings.
John J. Macreedy: And you're gonna sit there and let 'em do it.
Doc T.R. Velie Jr.: I try to live right. I drink my milk every day. But mostly, I try to mind my own business - which is something I'd advise you to do.

More quotes from Bad Day at Black Rock

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