Other mistake: At the very start of the chase scene, where the shooter tries to kill Popeye, he looks up to the shooter's position. There are at least 6-7 floors of the building. When Popeye looks over the edge, he can see the shooter running away from the building. In the next scene, he is chasing the shooter on foot and is not far behind him. By the time Popeye had run back down all those flights of stairs, the shooter would be long gone.
The French Connection (1971)
1 other mistake
Directed by: William Friedkin
Starring: Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, Fernando Rey, Tony Lo Bianco
Continuity mistake: At the beginning of the film in Brooklyn, it is obviously dark outside (nighttime). As they are chasing the guy from the bar, it all of a sudden is during the daytime as it is light outside.
Suggested correction: I think that it looks dark because they are under an elevated train track.
Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle: This is Doyle. I'm sittin' on Frog One.
Bill Mulderig: Yeah, I know that. We got the Westbury covered like a tent.
Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle: The Westbury my ass! I got him on the shuttle at Grand Central, now what the hell's going on up there?
Trivia: The casting of Fernando Rey was an accident. William Friedkin had wanted to cast Francisco Rabal, whom he had seen in Belle de jour (1967), but at the time didn't know his name. Only after actor and director met did Friedkin realize Rey wasn't the actor he had wanted. Friedkin ended up keeping Rey after learning that Rabal spoke neither English nor French.
Question: Could the police really put the Lincoln back together perfectly and that quickly?
Answer: It's a different car of the same make and model that they swapped for the one they tore apart, and in which they hid the drugs in the same place as the original.
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