Deliberate mistake: After having wrestled with Santini in his office, Col. Virgil Hedgepath tells Santini, "And no more assaulting corporals in the latrine." Marines use the naval term "head" in refering to the restroom, and would never call it "the latrine." However, since "latrine" is better known to civilians, this could be a deliberate mistake by the film makers.
The Great Santini (1979)
1 deliberate mistake - chronological order
Directed by: Lewis John Carlino
Starring: Robert Duvall, Blythe Danner, Michael O'Keefe, Lisa Jane Persky
Genres: Drama
Factual error: When Ben and Mary Ann are leaving for the prom, their little brother Brian is wearing a vest adorned with various fighter squadron and jet fighter emblems. When he leans around the pillar to tell Mary Ann she looks pretty, you can see that the patch on the lower left is for the F-14 Tomcat. While the movie is set in 1962, the Tomacat didn't have its maiden flight until 1970, and was not put into service until 1974.
Ben Meechum: Would you like to die in action, Dad?
Bull Meechum: It's better than dying of piles.
Trivia: Although Blythe Danner plays Michael O'Keefe and Lisa Jane Persky's mother in the film, she is only 12 years older than them.