The Graduate

The Graduate (1967)

78 mistakes - chronological order

(4 votes)

Continuity mistake: Benjamin takes Elaine to the bar at the Taft Hotel. As they leave the bar, both double doors are open as Benjamin walks through but in the next shot we have a different camera angle and only the door on the right is open. (01:04:50)

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Revealing mistake: The day after their first date Benjamin drives through the pouring rain to pick up Elaine. If you look closely out the side windows of the car you can see that it's produced by a rain machine, it's actually a beautiful day with the sun shining. (01:07:40)

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Continuity mistake: Benjamin brings some flowers for his date with Elaine and has them on the dashboard underneath the rearview mirror. As the scene progresses the box moves to the left in relation to the steering wheel and the rear view mirror above it without being touched. (01:07:45)

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Continuity mistake: As Benjamin approaches their house, Mrs. Robinson gets into the car and threatens to tell Elaine about their affair. Benjamin gets out of his car in the pouring rain and runs to the Robinson house and if you look closely he runs out from under the rain making machine about thirty feet from the car. (01:08:50)

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Continuity mistake: As Benjamin runs into the Robinson house his feet are soaking wet and they leave several footprints in front of the doorway. When Mrs. Robinson runs in a couple of seconds later the floor is dry. (01:08:55)

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Continuity mistake: After sitting in the car talking to Elaine's mother Benjamin runs into the Robinson house and up the steps to Elaine's room. Mrs. Robinson follows a couple seconds later and a statue of a poodle at the bottom of the steps is now facing in the opposite direction. (01:08:55)

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Continuity mistake: Mrs. Robinson runs into the house after Benjamin and the chair and plant at the bottom of the steps on the left of the screen have been moved without anyone being near them. (01:09:05)

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Continuity mistake: Benjamin follows Elaine and meets up with her on a bus as she's going to the zoo to meet her boyfriend. After Elaine and her boyfriend walk off and leave Benjamin alone he looks over at two monkeys sitting in their cage. The first time we see them they're sitting next to a window, but in the next shot of them we're looking at two different monkeys that are not sitting next to a window. (01:20:25)

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Continuity mistake: Benjamin runs into his apartment building and up the steps holding the flowers towards the floor. In the next shot he's holding the flowers upward. (01:30:25)

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Continuity mistake: Benjamin runs up the steps to his apartment to find Mr. Robinson sitting there waiting for him. Before he gets to the door the wall on his right is dark but then in the next shot as we see him entering the apartment that wall is totally lit up. (01:30:35)

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Continuity mistake: Benjamin walks into his apartment and Mr. Robinson is sitting there waiting for him and his face and the back of his head are totally dark. In the next shot we see his face again and the left side is lit up. (01:30:50)

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Continuity mistake: Mr. Robinson sits in Benjamin's apartment waiting for him by the window as he smokes a cigar. In the first shot of this scene the cigar is lit, he never puts it out but several seconds later we see it again and it isn't. Then in the shot after that we see smoke blowing through the air as we look at Benjamin face. (01:31:30)

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Continuity mistake: Mr. Robinson confronts Benjamin in his apartment about the affair with Mrs. Robinson. As Mr. Robinson sits by the window the lamp shade to his right is dark, later when we see the lamp shade again as he gets ready to leave it's lit up. (01:32:15)

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Continuity mistake: The scene with Mr. Robinson in Benjamin's apartment lasts two and a half minutes. When Benjamin walked into the apartment his coat is soaking wet but as he leaves and walks past Mr. McCleery it's dry. (01:32:50)

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Continuity mistake: Mr. Robinson leaves Benjamin's apartment and calls him filth and scum as Mr. McCleery the landlord sits at the top of the steps listening. The painting on the wall to the left of the steps is not in direct light but in the next shot when Benjamin walks by the lighting has changed and a dark shadow cast by the frame against the wall is visible. (01:32:50)

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Continuity mistake: As he leaves the apartment Mr. McCleery tells Benjamin to, "get out of here". If you look closely at the light fixture over the pay phone in front of him you'll see it only has one light on it. In the next shot as he rounds the staircase we see it again and there are two lights on it. (01:33:15)

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Continuity mistake: Mrs. Robinson picks up the phone to call the police on Benjamin who has broken into her house but if you look closely she never dials the phone. (01:35:10)

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Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: Since we never see the police come in, we're not for sure she actually called them as Mrs. Robinson is known to lie and manipulate. All we hear are tires screeching and as we see no police pursuing him, it's unlikely.

Continuity mistake: Benjamin breaks into the Robinson's house and runs upstairs looking for Elaine but finds Mrs. Robinson instead. As she picks up the phone to call the police we see nothing on the bed except a blue pillow. In the next shot there's a lot of other things now covering the blue pillow. (01:35:15)

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Visible crew/equipment: The Robinson's have a mirrored headboard and as they zoom in on Mrs. Robinson as she calls the police, if you look closely you can see the camera's shadow move across the sofa in the mirror. (01:35:20)

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Visible crew/equipment: Benjamin gets angry with Mrs. Robinson and overturns the suitcase that's on the bed. If you look closely the film jumps as he hits the camera when he throws it. (01:35:55)

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Buck Henry: Are you here for an affair, sir?

More quotes from The Graduate

Trivia: After Elaine screams and landlord Norman Fell comes to Benjamin's door, one of the boarding-house kids asks, "Should I get the cops?" Look closely: That kid is Richard Dreyfus.

More trivia for The Graduate

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