Corrected entry: At the end of the movie, Frank Bennett is killed and his body is barbecued to hide it. We hear Curtis Smoote talking about how good the barbecue smells. Problem: numerous true-crime reports where human beings were actually cooked, all report that the smell of human flesh was intolerably foul and very strong. Even if Smoote has a terrible sense of smell and it didn't bother him, it would have reached the restaurant's customers and/or neighbors, who would have reported that the smell was awful.
Corrected entry: When Idgie rescues Ruth from her husband she comes with Big George and a friend. When they all drive off Big George is missing in the car. (00:48:40)
Correction: Actually, Big George climbs into the rumble seat with Ruth's luggage, you can see him there when they are driving off, but he is not distinct due to the darkness of the car, the seat and Big George's own skin color. He is there, but he is somewhat hard to see.
Corrected entry: Buddy is killed when he is hit by a train. He is trapped on the track because his foot is stuck in a shunt, shown in close-up. However, it has already been established, and then re-established, that this is a straight and lonely stretch of track. (00:13:35)
Correction: It's not a lonely stretch of track. Whistle Stop is a town based around the train lines, and Ninny even says at one point late in the movie that once the trains stop running through the town, the town closes down and everyone leaves, as the train lines were the heart of the town. Trains are going through every day. In the book this is reinforced by Ninny saying how she lived right next to the track and couldn't sleep until she heard the 10:40 train go past at night.
Corrected entry: In the scene where Evelyn and Ed are lost at Whistle Stop, Evelyn starts looking around then she hears a train whistle, the camera shows a building I'm not sure if it's a house but you can see the train in the window. When it goes back to Evelyn she asks "Did you hear that?" and Ed says "Hear what?" they then both act as though nothing was ever there.
Correction: Thats because it's a ghost train, the train isn't really there.
Corrected entry: When Idgie drives by the church sitting on a truck she comments on Reverend Scroggins' sermon. Scroggins' voive may have been quite voluminous, but as the church door was closed and the vintage truck was rather noisy she didn't have a chance to pick up anything the reverend was saying. (00:25:40)
Correction: There is a shot that shows the topic of the week's sermon on the church's sign. Idgie doesn't need to hear him to know what he's preaching about.
Corrected entry: Ninny moves in with Evelyn because her home was condemned and demolished while she was at the nursing home. How could Ninny's home get so wrecked while she was living in it to be condemned? Even if she had allowed it, it's illegal for the city authorities to destroy someone's home and possessions without notifying them and giving them a chance to rectify the problem.
Correction: She wasn't living in it, she had been living in the nursing home for many years. If the notices even got to her, she probably just threw them away unopened as a bunch of foolish nonsense.
There are mentions of this in the film, Ninny was notified, but a relative of hers got them and withheld the information in order to avoid discouraging Ninny.
Corrected entry: At Idgie's murder trial, the prosecutor says that when she threatened to kill Frank Bennett, it was in front of his hired man - the day she came to help Ruth leave Frank. But in that scene, we never see any hired man inside the house or out - if he was there, wouldn't he help Frank or at least come closer to where the action was?
Correction: The prosecutor said that he knew from Bennett's men (his friends, not hired men) that she had threatened to kill him. That he could have told them any time.
Correction: Actually, there is a man (that presumably came with Frank) standing at the back door. You can get a glimpse of him while Idgie is being spun around on Frank's back. It's fast, but he's there.
Correction: That's as may be, but Frank is not simply being "cooked". This is deep South barbecue, with seasoning and spices and sauces and marinades... The foul smell of human flesh cooking would be absolutely lost in the many savory and delicious smells of the flavoring added to it.
Phixius ★