Continuity mistake: When Del finally dies his jaw is slack, but when it shows his body on the gurney his teeth are clenched tight.
The Green Mile (1999)
Plot summary
Directed by: Frank Darabont
Starring: Tom Hanks, James Cromwell, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt, Michael Clarke Duncan
Miracles happen in unexpected places, even in the death-row cellblock at Cold Mountain Penitentiary. There John Coffey, a gentle giant of a prisoner with supernatural powers, brings a sense of spirit and humanity to his guards and fellow inmates.
More mistakes in The Green Mile
Paul Edgecomb: I think about all the people I've loved, now long gone. I think about my beautiful Jen, how I lost her so many years ago. And I think about all of us walking our own green mile, each in our own time. But one thought, more than any other, keeps me awake most nights: if he could make a mouse live so long, how much longer do I have? We each owe a death, there are no exceptions. Oh God, sometimes seems so long.
Trivia: In order for Michael Clarke Duncan to look like he's 7ft as in the book, they made him many different things such as walking on a wooden plank throughout the film and making a smaller electric chair just for him. He was also given a small bed during the scenes in his cell. When he's seen with the two dead little girls, they're actually a 7th smaller than the real girls to make him look much bigger.
Question: When the guards are talking to Percy in the restraint room, Paul says he knows he sabotaged Del's execution. Why did he let him get away with it?
Chosen answer: Percy's aunt is married to the state Governor, giving Percy powerful connections. All it would take is one phone call from Percy and Paul and the other guards could lose their jobs and if Percy wanted to, never find jobs again. Something Paul or his friends didn't want to happen.
The characters talk about this several different times in the movies, how political connections can ruin careers.
Answer: In addition to previous answers, it is probably also worth mentioning that they will never be able to prove it. Percy mentions multiple times that he "didn't know the sponge was supposed to be wet," even when they are back in the Green Mile and only Paul and the other guards are around, indicating that it will be his defense when they ever make it into a thing, knowing that they will never be able to prove otherwise.
Suggested correction: How can you tell his jaw is slack when he had a hood over it the entire time?
lartaker1975
I have the movie and during Del's execution, the hood is partially burned off. After he finally dies, his jaw is completely slack.
I also have the movie and can confirm that not only is Del's jaw slack but, when the hood is burned off it looks like most of his face has been burned off leaving nothing but a skull. Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sh3u3Kqdynw.
Suggested correction: Rigor mortis can occur as quickly as 2 hours after death. One of the first muscles of the body to stiffen is the jaw. It also depends on the age of the deceased and calcium amount.
lionhead
Suggested correction: The guards would have done what they could to make his remains less grotesque. Closing his jaw is probably one of their regular duties.
MovieFan612 ★
Once the body dies, muscles can not constrict, and they relax. A guard could never close the jaw or mouth after death anymore than he could close a dead man's eyes shortly after death. That's a movie myth.
Bishop73