The Andy Griffith Show
The Andy Griffith Show mistake picture

Andy and Opie - Bachelors - S3-E4

Revealing mistake: After Andy and Opie choose between chicken and pot roast using a nickle, when Opie gives the nickle back to Andy the window over the sink is missing - the fake window wasn't put up on the set wall for this shot, but when the food burns the window and curtains are up there as usual.

Super Grover

The Andy Griffith Show mistake picture

Barney's First Car - S3-E27

Deliberate mistake: After Barney buys the car from Mrs. Lesh, he and Andy are standing at the steps as he tells her not to look back at the car, and the next shot of Andy and Barney at the front door is the same shot from a few moments prior, but it's been flipped so they would be looking in the opposite direction. (00:09:30)

Super Grover

The Andy Griffith Show mistake picture

The Bank Job - S3-E13

Revealing mistake: During the holdup at the bank, while the bank robber's holding Asa's broken gun, when Andy motions to Asa to duck out of the way in the closeup we can see the two thin wires to the left and right pulling the gun apart.

Super Grover

The Andy Griffith Show mistake picture

Floyd, the Gay Deceiver - S3-E9

Continuity mistake: At the start, when Floyd and Andy walk into the barbershop, in the exterior shot Floyd's white barber jacket is on a hanger hanging from the coat tree that has a finial at the top of its pole, but in the next interior shot that jacket is hanging directly on the coat tree's hook, the hanger has vanished, and that finial has disappeared as well.

Super Grover

The Andy Griffith Show mistake picture

The Big House - S3-E32

Continuity mistake: When Gomer drops the gun from the roof it lands on the ground directly in front of Andy and Barney, who are standing on the sidewalk beside the courthouse, but the area where they're standing looks different between the overhead shots and closeups, and their shadows change as well. Additionally, the gun lands with its handle to the left, but in the wideshot the gun is lying the opposite way, with its handle to the right.

Super Grover

The Andy Griffith Show mistake picture

The Big House - S3-E32

Continuity mistake: At the end, when Andy walks in on Barney showing Gomer how to draw his gun, Gomer draws his gun out of the holster which sends it flying behind him, and in the closeup the bookcase glass shatters, but in the wideshot when they all turn to look the glass is still perfectly intact.

Super Grover

The Andy Griffith Show mistake picture

Convicts-at-Large - S3-E11

Continuity mistake: After Andy and Floyd talk outside the grocery Floyd gets into his car with the convict, and when they drive away we see all the food ads taped to both of the store windows while Andy's on the sidewalk, but when it cuts to Andy's closeups the taped ads have changed.

Super Grover

More mistakes in The Andy Griffith Show

Opie's Group - S8-E9

Andy: Clara, sometimes a parent can't see what he should do, and sometimes it takes a person from the outside to show him. And I'd like to thank you.
Clara: Groovy.

Super Grover

More quotes from The Andy Griffith Show
More trivia for The Andy Griffith Show

Convicts-at-Large - S3-E11

Question: Beginning with the "Convicts at Large" episode in season 3, full width window boxes appear at the bottom of both front windows on the inside of the Sheriff's Office. Prior to this episode, they did not exist. Window boxes are often used to display decorative plants but I don't see any plants. And if they were supposed to partially block the background, the blinds were long enough to accomplish that. I find it hard to believe that the producers would spend additional money (for material and labor) for something that seems to serve no purpose. So why were they added?

Answer: Those "boxes" are valences that used to be very common, before air conditioning. They allow for windows to be open during rain storms. They permit air circulation, without letting the rain in.

Answer: As noted in the previous answers, in real life, things like this provided wind and/or rain deflection, and also maintained a bit of privacy when blinds were raised somewhat. The interior courthouse set was located in the studio, so the "outside" Main Street didn't exist. I believe these things were added to the courthouse windows for practicality, to avoid some crew movement being visible on the opposite side of those windows. These are not "window boxes" to hold anything, as they're actually bottomless; we can see the Venetian blind's long pull cords under them. They're made of plywood and simple to build, so the "material and labor" was inexpensive. Similar variations made of different materials are in other movies/shows. In 1957's "12 Angry Men," textured chicken wire glass panels are in the jury room windows, and in "Jesse Stone: Night Passage" another type is in Jesse's office windows.

Super Grover

Answer: I suspect these were common, as to block the wind from blowing the blinds and papers on the desk.

More questions & answers from The Andy Griffith Show

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.