The Thorn Birds

Continuity mistake: When Mary Carson is touching Father Ralph when he is shirtless her hands keep changing position between shots.

Audio problem: When Meggie and Stu see the fire he cries "Oh my God". His mouth, however, is open when he begins to speak, then closes it, and it remains closed throughout the rest of the line.

Factual error: During the huge thunderstorm which causes the fire you can see that it's actually a bright, sunny day with only a mild overcast. Several times you can see the sky in the shots and though sometimes lightning bolts are visible there are only a few light clouds on an otherwise blue sky.

More mistakes in The Thorn Birds

Ralph de Bricassart: How will we live without him?
Meggie Cleary: We will. Your God gathers in the good ones... and leaves the living to those of us whom fail. Your greedy God! There is no peace with him.

Dane O'Neill: Mom, is this you? Oh, you were beautiful.
Meggie Cleary: Were? Oh the cruelty of youth.
Fiona 'Fee' Cleary: It was a lovely dress. Blue wasn't it?
Meggie Cleary: No, Mum, yours was blue.
Ralph de Bricassart: Meggie's dress was rose. "Ashes of Roses", it was called. And in it, she was the most beautiful thing any of us had ever seen.

Ralph de Bricassart: What kind of man is this Luke O'Neill, who roams about and doesn't even make a home for Meggie?
Fiona 'Fee' Cleary: The ambitious kind.

More quotes from The Thorn Birds

Question: Fee tells Mary she has two deceased sons. She tells her this before the deaths of Stuart and Hal. I don't remember any other of the Cleary children dying in the novel, what two sons is she referring to?

Answer: When Fee was very young, she had an affair with a man and became pregnant. To avoid a scandal, she was quickly married off to Paddy Cleary, a good and honest man, but someone far below Fee in social class. The eldest son (from Fee's previous relationship) never felt that he fit into the family, and both he and the second eldest son left home early on and met premature deaths. Neither character appears in the TV series, they are only mentioned. Stu and Hal are killed later in the story.

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