Question: What was the secret passed on to the carriage boy?
Answer: "The Secret Lies With Charlotte" ~ Charles Carrol of "Charleston".
Question: Ben explains the code on the Declaration reading 'Heere to the Wall' refers to the corner of Broadway and Wall St. But inside the church he reads 'Beneath Parkington Lane' and assumes that must mean beneath the church. But why is there no explanation for what Parkington Lane is and why wouldn't Ben think it's just another clue?
Answer: He doesn't simply assume "Beneath Parkington Lane" means beneath the church: Parkington Lane is the name etched on the tomb hiding the entrance to the tunnels. When he saw it, he naturally deduced what he had to do.
Question: In the scene where Ben has just pulled Abigail into the van after he had stolen the Declaration, why does he ask her if she is hungry?
Answer: It's meant to distract her and confuse her so that he can think and talk appropriately.
Question: In the movie, the symbol of a pyramid with an eye in the top of it (found on American currency, if I understood correctly) is credited as belonging to the Free Masons, but doesn't it actually belong to the Illuminati? Or are the Free Masons and the Illuminati perhaps the same?
Answer: The are not the same but rumors and conspiracy theories have the Masons and the Illuminati intertwined for hundreds of years. That is why there are numerous symbols thought to belong to one or both.
Question: When unknown helicopter is heading for INTREPID, in the very first few frames of the pan of New York City's skyline, there are two tall building to the left edge of the picture. Not being from NYC and knowing nothing about its real estate, it looks a little like the Twin Towers but that's impossible not only because they don't exist any more but also, those two buildings are in the wrong place. I am curious as to what those two buildings are.
Chosen answer: These are the Time Warner Center buildings, most likely. Check out this web page for a similar misunderstanding on a larger scale: http://www.snopes.com/humor/mediagoofs/blackout.asp.
Question: I recently saw a photo of the Liberty Bell, and the Independence Hall tower is visible through a large picture window right behind the bell. Wouldn't Ben have been directly in Ian's sight when he (Ian) was facing the Liberty Bell? Wouldn't a man running across the roof next door have drawn his (and others') attention?
Answer: Not really. Ian was concentrating on the Bell, trying to figure out the riddle. He could easily have missed Ben (or assumed he was some kind of maintenance worker) under the circumstances.
Question: Which Ferrari model does Riley drive at the end of the film?
Answer: F360 Spider.
Question: What are the torches in the tunnels under Trinity church made out of that they light instantly after how many tens or hundreds of years?
Question: Who found the first treasure?
Answer: There was no treasure - it was a fake room in case anyone got that far, without a way to get into the real treasure room.
Then what was that stuff they found near the end of the movie if there was no treasure?
They were referring to the first empty room that looked looted. There was never anything there, it was a red herring.
Question: How are the chandelier and troughs of oils that light the treasure extinguished? If they are left to burn out, there would be no oil left to relight them.
Answer: You could do two things: let them burn out and refill them for the next people, or smother them and remove all the oxygen.
Question: Why didn't the FBI ask Ben's father what type of car he owns like they would do in real life? They type of car Ben, Riley, and Abigail stole from Ben's father has an on star system that would allow the authorities to track them through satellite, and intercept them ruining any chance of escape for the them. So why didn't the FBI use the on star system to track them?
Answer: One of the agents, when they are interrogating Patrick at his house, mentions that the car that Patrick owns (although I don't know the brand) is missing, so they have asked. There is also a correction at some point about the on-star system (similar to your question) that shows that the on-star system could have been removed for any number of reasons.
It's a Cadillac Deville.
Question: Would it really be possible to get a fingerprint off glass using the method Ben uses in the movie?
Answer: Simply put, yes, but that would be the easy part...it is doubtful that a simple ink impression would be able to fool a fingerprint scanner of the sophistication of the one at the National Archives. Most importantly, high-end scanners don't just read the print, they measure the ridges and minute imperfections, which a 2-D impression on a rubber glove wouldn't provide. Some even measure the user's pulse rate and can detect the difference between actual skin contact and "dead" tissue (e.g, a rubber glove). So, it's a mix of real technology (used often in law enforcement, etc.), and Hollywood magic to advance the plot.
Question: How did Ben manage to fool the fingerprint scanner?
Answer: He took Abigail's fingerprints from a glass that she was holding. When he put his thumb up against the fingerprint scanner, it was actually Abigail's fingerprint that was being scanned, so the scanner was tricked into thinking that Abigail was trying to enter the room and not Ben.
I think Ben would have a hard time fooling the fingerprint scanner since the scanner analyzes not only your fingerprint but your blood pressure, and body temperature.
Would his body temperature and blood pressure be different from Abigail's?
Question: How did Ian know the "Declaration" would be in the basement? If Gates had not stolen it, the "Declaration" would still be on display, protected by all that security.
Answer: I did some reading on this. The Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, all stored at the National Archives, are lowered nightly from public viewing displays to a basement vault. Ian would know about the routine and plan accordingly. It's still inconceivable that any document could be stolen, considering the high security guarding them, but it's a move, after all.
Answer: The Declaration was moved to the basement some time before the party, plenty of time for someone with as much money and connections as Ian to find out it had been replaced by a replica and moved to the other location.
Question: Wasn't there an "original" scene (edited out in favor of the existing scene) where everyone is below the church, and Ian is leaving Ben, Abigail, Riley, and Patrick behind to go to Boston, and Ian not only threatens to shoot Riley if he speaks again, but he also does shoot Ben's dad Patrick? I can recall that scene - shot in the upper front shoulder area, and he collapses, etc. I don't recall what happens to Patrick after that, since they find the treasure room after that. Do you recall?
Answer: Perhaps you are confusing it with Indiana Jones' father being shot at the end of Last Crusade?
Answer: I saw it in the theater twice and that scene did not happen.
Answer: I've seen that movie a dozen times. I don't believe that scene exists.
Answer: After reading your question, I had a vague flashback about the scene as you described it, maybe from when I saw the theatrical version. I searched, but I can't find any online reference to it, but I think you are right and the film may have since been re-edited. I hope someone else can verify this.
Question: What was so important about the pipe?
Question: Ben surrenders the Declaration of Independence, and the treasure's location, in exchange for not going prison. In real life, would surrendering the Declaration and the treasure's location be enough to convince the FBI to let him off the hook, or would he still go to prison?
Answer: It's doubtful anyone would be completely "off the hook" for stealing the Declaration of Independence and also receive a percentage of the treasure's worth, even if they revealed the location.
Question: Why would Ben/Riley/Abigail need to go all the way to Philadelphia to see the Silence Dogood letters? Surely they would have been available online in 2004 when this movie was made? Ian found info on "Pass and Stow" online. (01:07:05 - 01:14:05)
Answer: In reality, they wouldn't...the only reason they go to Philadelphia is to advance the plot. This has been discussed by numerous critics and can be classified as a mistake (either a "Deliberate Mistake", or character stupidity).
The glasses! And of course one can presume the didn't know specifically what they where looking for.
Chosen answer: Abigail.
Bowling255 ★