The Mysterious Affair at Styles - S3-E1
Plot hole: To enter Mrs. Inglethorp's bedroom, Hastings and John have to ram the door and certainly break the lock (it is replaced, so there was damage done). The doctor leaves the house very early in the morning just after ascertaining the death of the woman, and tells them he "locked both rooms" (the room has three doors but one is bolted internally, allegedly). But the door was broken, and in fact when Poirot arrives, which is early in the morning, as Hastings went to the village waking him up, he finds a brand new lock in the door. They would have needed to summon a locksmith at maybe 6 or 7 am, to repair an internal door in a country house, and he should have done it on the spot (also, the door frame itself is more likely to suffer damage than the lock itself, no real damage was shown during the scene). The keys are also all in the same bunch and not looking in any way different (one should be brand new and shiny). (00:28:45 - 00:37:40)
The Mysterious Affair at Styles - S3-E1
Continuity mistake: Poirot is concentrating in London, making a house of cards. When he says "I steady my nerves, that is all", the 6 of hearts can be seen in his right hand, and he sets it as the diagonal piece. Cut to Hastings, and then Poirot supposedly still has the same house in front of him...but it is not. Where the 6 of hearts was, there is now a 6 of spades, and the whole castle is different, with the cards pulled tighter together. Later he rebuilds the house, and he sets horizontally in the close-up a 5 of spades, which turns into the 2 of spades immediately after. (01:19:40)
The Mysterious Affair at Styles - S3-E1
Factual error: Poirot is taking a break from the prosecution' speech and is walking with Hastings, explaining to him Mary Cavendish's jealousy. In the street, they pass by a truck (registration plate MR 5496) that is a Morris-Commercial 1-Ton model. Morris began productions in the early 20s, and we are in 1917 for this episode. (01:17:45)
The Mysterious Affair at Styles - S3-E1
Continuity mistake: The guests of Styles Court manage to get inside the room of Mrs. Inglethorp and talk to her before the second fatal crisis happens. In the first wide shot you can see Hastings peek at Lawrence and then look towards the fireplace, which is an action he'll do in the close-up that follows - Lawrence does not seem to look in the direction Hastings is checking out, at all, but that is actually a nice touch considering the resolution. Moreover, in the second close-up of Hastings looking at him (the one that follows the view of the fireplace), Mary is directly in front of Hastings, you can see her insignia and arm. But instantly she is shown at the cut, creeping along the wall behind Lawrence. (00:29:00)
The Mysterious Affair at Styles - S3-E1
Factual error: At the local food store, Poirot is talking with the shopkeeper. In the background are plenty of food packages that show the great care for authenticity that is a mark of the series. I feel like disputing at least a couple; the Polly box with a parrot is a Taormina American-made can that should be a product of the 20s, and the Brown and Polson's Patent Corn Flour has a claim on the box that says "65 years world-wide reputation." The patent is a 1856 one and the annexed name is from 1859 (previous ads with established date show that year as the one they started counting from); in 1917 the box would have not said "65 years", it hadn't even reached 60. (00:19:20)
The Mysterious Affair at Styles - S3-E1
Continuity mistake: At dinner, Alfred Inglethorp asks Hastings what he's going to do after the war. The person to his left is placing a glass on the table. The next cut happens mid-sentence and in that instantaneous timeframe the glass is perfectly still while the wine was still noticeably moving in the previous shot. (00:10:10)
The Mysterious Affair at Styles - S3-E1
Factual error: The movie opens with Hastings watching a news film about the "New Flanders Offensive." It says that on "7th June 1917 General Haig attacks Ypres", but at the beginning of the year Sir Douglas Haig was promoted to Field Marshall. A news propaganda reel would surely have called him with the appropriate title. (00:00:35)
The Mysterious Affair at Styles - S3-E1
Continuity mistake: The coroner asks Mary to tell everyone about the quarrel. Frontal shot of Mr. Wells; he is pointing his hand with the spectacles at a certain height. Reverse shot; the hand is lower, resting on the other hand, and only then he raises it to the same level as it was in the other shot. (00:53:40)
The Mysterious Affair at Styles - S3-E1
Continuity mistake: When Evie Howard leaves the house after the argument with Mrs. Inglethorp, she sits on the sofa explaining what happened to Hastings and the others. She has her hands on top of the purse handles. After a brief cut on Mary saying "oh no", one of the handles is free. (00:16:40)
Factual error: The basis of the blackmail is based on the Japanese invasion of Manchuria because howitzers were supplied to bombard Shanghai. Shanghai is not in Manchuria. (00:35:41)
Continuity mistake: When Miss Lemon announces Mr. Halliday, Poirot has two open letters on his desk, side by side when the camera is positioned behind the desk, which turn into one (probably one on top of the other) when the camera is positioned in front. (00:07:00)
The Million Dollar Bond Robbery - S3-E3
Continuity mistake: In the cabin of Mr. Ridgeway, Poirot approaches the portmanteau. In the close-up the tie covers completely the lock before Poirot pushes it aside with his cane, but in the wider shot part of it was already visible, uncovered. (00:24:25)
Continuity mistake: Hastings and Poirot are talking about the optimist friend. Once Hastings says "It bucketed down", he's holding the newspaper, and it stays pretty firm. Miss Lemon knocks, and the newspaper is now folding at the upper corner. (00:06:45)
The Mysterious Affair at Styles - S3-E1
Continuity mistake: About the burnt will, the lawyer asks the obvious question to John Cavendish "Are you so sure it's a coincidence?" He's holding in his raised left hand a sheet. Next shot and he has both hands down on the desk. (00:48:55)
How Does Your Garden Grow? - S3-E2
Factual error: At the very beginning of the episode, Katrina visits the Soviet embassy. It is written in big letters; "Union of the Soviet Socialist Republic", while the correct official name was "Union of Soviet Socialist Republics." (00:01:45)
Revealing mistake: When Japp points at the news on the paper about the mine stocks going up, in the close-up you can see easily that only the title and the enlarged text of the first 3 lines talk about the mine. The rest is sports talk. (00:33:55)
How Does Your Garden Grow? - S3-E2
Continuity mistake: Once Japp passes him back the seed packet telling him it's empty, Poirot checks it out; in the close-up he's holding the paper in a completely different way (the side instead of the top). (00:11:20)
Wasps' Nest - S3-E5
Continuity mistake: Poirot is examining the photos taken by Hastings at the party. Depending on the camera angle, the pictures and their reciprocal distance change across the whole sequence. (00:15:30 - 00:16:05)
How Does Your Garden Grow? - S3-E2
Continuity mistake: Miss Barrowby pretends to have just then recognized Poirot, she lowers her left hand, but has it up when he nods to her, and he has his matching hand suddenly higher too. (00:09:00)
The Million Dollar Bond Robbery - S3-E3
Continuity mistake: When Poirot receives his platter of buttered brains, the delicacy that makes Hastings queasy is turned a different way in each shot (easy to tell from the asparagus). (00:28:05)
