Catch Me If You Can

Factual error: In the scene where Frank Abagnale is arrested in France, on of the police cars has a license plate that ends with 'PP 41'. Now the last two digits are a code for a particular French district ('departement') and the two letters indicate the age of the car, i.e. the first licence plates ever had the letters AA, then AB, all the way through to ZZ and most recent licence plates have three letters. For this particular 'departement' the highest possible letter sequence would have been HH for 1969 and JB for 1970. So this particular car, or its license plate, is much more recent than 1969 or 1970. (01:57:45)

Character mistake: Carl, carrying his gun, goes up the outside staircase before entering Frank's apartment. When he encounters the frightened cleaning woman, he flashes his F.B.I. badge at her to identify himself. However, he only shows her the back of the black I.D. wallet, which has no markings on it.

raywest

Factual error: When the family is leaving the home they had just sold, the shingles on the roof are laminate shingles which were not invented until the 1970's. And that particular style was not developed till the 1990's. (00:16:20)

Continuity mistake: When Frank Jr. Is getting fitted for his pilot's uniform (because he lied and said he lost his other one), after the tailor finishes and tells him the cost, there are only two rank bars on his sleeves. Then, when he walks out in the uniform, there are three bars on the sleeves. Considering he says he lost his uniform in his first week as a copilot, he wouldn't have been given an extra bar before leaving. (00:34:35)

Continuity mistake: There is a scene where Leo is at a hotel and meets Jennifer Garner, the 17 model. Then when he is recruiting flight attendants at a school, you see Jennifer Garner again but this time as one of the school girls.

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Suggested correction: She is not in the recruiting scene. Jennifer Garner is featured in that one scene at the hotel, and is never seen in the movie again.

jshy7979

Factual error: Just after Carl finds out that Frank has escaped through the plane's lavatory, there is a shot of the plane landing. The plane shown is an Airbus A310, which didn't enter service until 1983, 14 years later. Also, TWA never operated the A310. Later, when Frank climbs out from the landing gear as the plane is taxiing, the aircraft is a Douglas DC-8. (02:00:53)

Video

Continuity mistake: When he pretends to be a doctor, and a he has to give advice on what to do with this patient, a woman gives him some kind of tool. He holds it in his hands, and towards his face, in a 'thinking' pose. Then the camera changes and the object is suddenly gone. The camera then jumps back to the previous position where he had the tool, but it's also gone in that frame. He's now just having his arms crossed.

Factual error: When Carl looks at a map over Europe, the borders of the countries are incorrect at the time: Germany is shown as one country, but it was divided into east and west in the sixties. Czechoslovakia was one country in the sixties, however it was divided into Czechia and Slovakia on the map, as it was at the time the movie was made.

Continuity mistake: After Frank Jr. receives some checks for his 16th birthday he hugs his dad. Jr.'s head rests on his dad's right or left shoulder, depending on the angle.

Sacha

Continuity mistake: Going to school, Frank takes a cigarette off his mom's hand and throws it over the window. On the first angle he takes his head out of the window, but on the next angle his head is inside, as if just the torso had made the movement.

Sacha

Continuity mistake: When the show 'To tell the truth' starts, the host has his hands apart and raised. A frame later they are flat on the counter and his fingers crossed.

Sacha

Continuity mistake: When Frank Jr. takes his father to a fancy restaurant, his hair keeps swapping between brushed backwards or with a fringe on the left side.

Sacha

Continuity mistake: When Frank's parents are meeting with the principal, you can see Frank through the open blinds. When they leave the office the blinds are closed. (00:21:30 - 00:22:25)

jairodrigue

Factual error: In the scene where Frank is tearing up Park Avenue in his "James Bond" sports car, a modern "NYC" lamp post banner is noticeable in the background.

aydiosmio

Continuity mistake: In the plane, during Carl and Frank's chat on how did Frank pass the law test, the pillow in between swaps positions between angles.

Sacha

Continuity mistake: When Frank is having lunch with his father and offers him a Cadillac, in some shots Frank's right arm is over the table, but in others he has both arms hanging.

Paula Abagnale: Just tell me how much he owes and I'll pay you back.
Carl Hanratty: So far, it's about 1.3 million dollars.

More quotes from Catch Me If You Can

Trivia: The real Frank Abagnale Jr. was held in the French prison (Perpignan's House of Arrest) for approximately six months. His term was shortened from twelve months. When released (extradited to Sweden), he was ill because he had been forced to live in a damp, dark cell, naked and allowed only bread and water. In Sweden where he was tried and convicted he was kept in a comfortable Swedish prison. However, upon completion of his prison term in Sweden, he was next to be extradited to Italy. The Swedish government believed in prison reform and was afraid of the treatment he would receive in an Italian prison. As a result, Sweden revoked Frank's passport so it could intentionally have him extradited to the U.S. Once in the US, he was protected and couldn't be tried in the foreign countries where he perpetrated his fraudulent schemes. The book about his life contains a more accurate depiction than the film and was written 10 years prior to its release.

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Suggested correction: Incorrect. Abagnale served three months in a French prison, not six. He then served two months in a Swedish prison. He was ordered to recompense Swedish victims of his crimes but never did. The book about his life was published over 20 years before the film was released, not 10. The book and movie are both almost completely inaccurate; most of Abagnale's stories of his crimes and frauds were greatly exaggerated or completely made up. Journalists started discovering these lies in the late 1970s.

More trivia for Catch Me If You Can

Question: What is the name of the airport that is featured during the ending scene in which Carl is following Frank and tells him "Nobody's chasing you" ? Or at least, what airport is it supposed to be?

DialingForDollarhyde

Chosen answer: It is not mentioned, though it is likely Reagan (at the time Washington National) or Dulles, as they both work in Washington DC.

LorgSkyegon

More questions & answers from Catch Me If You Can

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