Corrected entry: When you first see Degas' hut on devils' island, it is very close to the water and not that high of a drop. Dega later tells Papillon there is no place on the island to launch a boat.
Papillon (1973)
1 corrected entry
Directed by: Franklin J. Schaffner
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Steve McQueen, Don Gordon, Victor Jory
Revealing mistake: When Maturette dies at the end he cannot close his left eye all the way because of the totally noticeable fake contact lens he is wearing.
Judge in Dream: I accuse you... of a wasted life.
Papillon: Guilty... guilty... guilty.
Trivia: In the book the tribal island girl who takes care of Papillon after he escapes is 12 years old. The film's producer made her older for all the obvious reasons.
Question: What's up with the chicken being crushed? I don't see how it could be fake. I assume it was an accident, but why would they continue like nothing happened? And why would they put it in the movie? And why haven't I seen anyone mention it?
Answer: It does appear to be unintentional (or at least, unscripted), but they continue because when you're shooting a movie, you don't stop until you hear "cut", and especially at that time animal welfare wasn't necessarily a priority. I'm guessing no-one was concerned about the chicken, and so didn't feel the need to do anything about it. It's possible the film was made without an animal welfare monitor on set. As to why it's in the movie, the whole "marching to the prison" sequence was probably handled by the assistant director (as shots like this, not involving the principals or any substantive dialogue, often are) and they may have only done the one take. Who knows, they may have thought the injured chicken added realism to the scene.
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Correction: He is referring to the currents around the island, which make it impossible to launch a small boat, not the lack of a suitable anchorage. In fact, the filmmakers got this exactly right - this is true of Devil's Island.