# Little things that briefly take you out of a movie: **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 7, 2019, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319 "2019-08-07T22:04:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2019, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/221 "2019-08-18T02:11:58Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > … And Claude Rains is telling Rick “You couldn’t have come here for the waters, we’re in the middle of the desert.” > > Uh, no, you’re not. Casablanca is on the windward side of the Atlas Mountains, not far from the West African coast. The climate there is a lot like Los Angeles’s, and Los Angeles is not in the desert. To be fair, Los Angeles is not where you would go for ‘the waters’. That statement may even be on the Salton Sea tourist T-shirt’s. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2019, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/222 "2019-08-18T03:43:31Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > …And he was driving eastbound, which means they had to shut down traffic on the Bay Bridge to get that shot, during the day, which blows my mind. In the so-so Kevin Costner pro football film _Draft Day_, he drives an absolutely nonsensical route across Cleveland. Anyone watching who’s from the city would ask, “Why the hell would he drive all over the place like that?” ---
**Author:** ![Eclipse\_Chaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Eclipse\_Chaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eclipse_Chaser)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2019, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/223 "2019-08-18T07:40:35Z")
American made productions set in London are notorious for that (and give a lot of amusement to Londoners) where for example a character arrives at LHR and on their way to their hotel in the centre, pass by St Pauls on their way to the hotel next to the Houses of Parliament. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2019, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/224 "2019-08-18T14:45:59Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > That reminded me of the famous car chase in _Bullitt_, and how the bad guys’ car (a Dodge Charger) keeps losing hubcaps, and seems to keep regenerating them. IIRC, it loses like six hubcaps over the course of the scene. > > Edit: apparently, it was actually [eight hubcaps](http://bestride.com/news/entertainment/infographic-how-many-hubcaps-came-off-the-dodge-charger-in-bullitt). 😃 I overlooked this one earlier but since I’ve sort of got a Bay Area theme going in this thread, the [chase](https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/CUT-TO-THE-CHASE-Classic-scene-in-McQueen-s-2580656.php) [route](https://media.wired.com/photos/5933920bd80dd005b42b2b94/master/w_660,c_limit/bullitt_map.jpg) was… creative. The two cars would round a corner and straighten out two miles away. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2019, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/225 "2019-08-18T22:46:29Z")
There was a seriously blatant continuity error in _Our Man in Havana._ Alec Guinness goes to a luncheon where the host is holding a black dachshund. He puts the dog down, and it drinks a poisoned cocktail and keels over. The dog’s owner rushes over and picks it up. Both times the owner is holding the dog it’s the black one. When it’s walking around on its own, it’s a RED dachshund. It was a B&W movie, but it’s still possible to differentiate between the two coat colors. The only thing I could think was that each dog had different acting abilities? It was so flagrant to me (maybe because I’m a doxie mom), that I can’t believe they did it. ---
**Author:** ![Capn\_Carl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Capn\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capn_Carl)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/226 "2019-08-19T01:44:42Z")
All car chases involve closely matched participants. Sports car vs van, ace hero driver vs amateur, sport bike vs anything, suped-up getaway car vs cop car, all deliver about the same performance. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/227 "2019-08-19T13:00:41Z")
[quote=“Morbo, post:185, topic:838319”] Gold is waaaay heavier than movies think it is. You can’t: [ul] [li]Pick up a gold brick with one hand and throw it at Oddjob[/li][li]Have it bounce off of you with no effect, even if you’re Oddjob[/li][li]Fill up a dump truck under the Federal Reserve and expect that dump truck to go anywhere[/li][li]Fill up a Mini Cooper and expect it to go anywhere, even with a “beefed up suspension”[/li][li]Swim through an avalanche of gold items inside a Gringotts vault without being crushed[/li][li]Expect a bag of sand to effectively replace the weight of the Golden Idol of the Hovitos[/ul][/li][/QUOTE] And it was averted in - of all movies - **Return from Witch Mountain**. The car was destroyed by the gold bars. ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/228 "2019-08-19T13:47:02Z")
Any period movie that has period cars in it. It doesn’t matter if they get it right and all the cars in it, even the deep background ones, were made before 1962 or whatever. It doesn’t matter if the cars were perfectly selected to reflect the characters and in appropriate condition given their age and use in the movie. When the old cars are on screen, I spend all my time judging them. At best, I appreciate all the work that went into getting the cars right. At worst, I’m distracted by the 1988-era composite headlight taxi cab in the movie set in 1984. But in all cases, I am distracted and taken out of the picture. I suspect all the people complaining about guns with too many bullets and open chambers, incorrect vintage war machines, or improbable fight physics have the same problem. It doesn’t matter if the film actually gets it right; you spent all the movies’ run time looking for the mistakes. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/229 "2019-08-19T14:43:22Z")
> [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](#): > > Any period movie that has period cars in it. It doesn’t matter if they get it right and all the cars in it, even the deep background ones, were made before 1962 or whatever… Have you seen \*Once Upon a Time in Hollywood \*(set in 1969) yet? I was impressed by the crowded street scenes and the many vintage cars. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/230 "2019-08-19T16:30:03Z")
> [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](#): > > At worst, I’m distracted by the 1988-era composite headlight taxi cab in the movie set in 1984. There was a scene in _The Americans_ that featured a post-1987 Caprice with composite headlights in an episode set in 1984. They actually put black tape around the headlights to try and make them look like the sealed beam headlight used on the older models. Even though you can still tell if you’re looking closely, I do have to commend them for at least knowing the car was wrong and attempting to hide it. Even though they didn’t always get it right that show seemed to at least make an attempt to get appropriate cars. And I know that was hard to do since being a spy show they specifically wanted nondescript cars, the kinds of cars that collectors typically don’t bother preserving like Plymouth Reliants and Buick Skylarks. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/231 "2019-08-19T19:37:30Z")
> [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](#): > > Any period movie that has period cars in it. It doesn’t matter if they get it right and all the cars in it, even the deep background ones, were made before 1962 or whatever… My favorite thing to do now that I’ve noticed it is to look at the grill of a vintage car in a movie set in WW2 or whatever, especially a Mercedes. You will inevitably notice an oval-shaped area of the grill that is much cleaner than the rest - it’s where they removed the high mileage badge. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dingbang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac8455/32.png) [@Dingbang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dingbang)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/232 "2019-08-19T21:28:37Z")
Whenever a police car pulls up to the scene, it inevitably issues a “whoop whoop” on the siren. It arrived without the siren on, yet the driver has to activate a “whoop whoop” on the siren as he parks the car. I can’t help but think of the driver remembering to reach over and manually activate the quick siren sound as he pulls up, which is stupid and pulls me out of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/233 "2019-08-19T21:32:22Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Have you seen \*Once Upon a Time in Hollywood \*(set in 1969) yet? I was impressed by the crowded street scenes and the many vintage cars. Are you recommending this film in particular to torment me? 🙂 > [@WildaBeast](#): > > There was a scene in _The Americans_ that featured a post-1987 Caprice with composite headlights in an episode set in 1984. They actually put black tape around the headlights to try and make them look like the sealed beam headlight used on the older models. Even though you can still tell if you’re looking closely, I do have to commend them for at least knowing the car was wrong and attempting to hide it. Even though they didn’t always get it right that show seemed to at least make an attempt to get appropriate cars. And I know that was hard to do since being a spy show they specifically wanted nondescript cars, the kinds of cars that collectors typically don’t bother preserving like Plymouth Reliants and Buick Skylarks. The Americans did a good job with cars as you note - but I was always looking for the background cars that seemed to pop up repeatedly. Like the Mercedes 240 that was in DC and then in Baltimore. It was the Forest Gump of cars. > [@Morbo](#): > > My favorite thing to do now that I’ve noticed it is to look at the grill of a vintage car in a movie set in WW2 or whatever, especially a Mercedes. You will inevitably notice an oval-shaped area of the grill that is much cleaner than the rest - it’s where they removed the high mileage badge. 🙂 And now I have a new focus for my obsession. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/234 "2019-08-19T21:59:01Z")
Something I can see is blatantly wrong. I watched _Money Monster_ and right away I knew the premise was wrong. Basically, a man storms the set of a CNBC-type finance/investing show and holds the host hostage because of some bad financial advice he gave. The guy was able to get past a snoozing guard. No way, no how. I’ve been to 30 Rock. The security there is INSANE. There’s absolutely no way something like that could happen, especially post 9/11. PERHAPS on some rinky-dink TV station out in the middle of the boonies, but even then, I doubt it. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/235 "2019-08-19T22:05:12Z")
Missed the edit window. Even if, by some reason, the guy manages to get on set, there’s no way the broadcast would continue live. I think the old Murphy Brown did an episode where they looped the feed into the studio so the guy would think he was still live but he wasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/236 "2019-08-21T06:21:46Z")
Not a movie, but a tv series. I was just watching an episode of the Australian series, “Doctor Blake Mysteries”. It’s established in the episode that it takes place in 1960. A closeup of a police detective clearly showed that his ears had been pierced. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/237 "2019-08-21T12:45:40Z")
[quote=“Morbo, post:185, topic:838319”] Gold is waaaay heavier than movies think it is. You can’t: [ul] [li]Pick up a gold brick with one hand and throw it at Oddjob[/li][li]Have it bounce off of you with no effect, even if you’re Oddjob[/li][li]Fill up a dump truck under the Federal Reserve and expect that dump truck to go anywhere[/li][li]Fill up a Mini Cooper and expect it to go anywhere, even with a “beefed up suspension”[/li][li]Swim through an avalanche of gold items inside a Gringotts vault without being crushed[/li][li]Expect a bag of sand to effectively replace the weight of the Golden Idol of the Hovitos[/ul][/li][/QUOTE] Yeah, I remember in Kelly’s Heroes when they’re all jumping around celebrating at the stack of gold-filled boxes. Someone accidentally hits a box with their flailing hand and sends it flying like a, oh… an empty balsa wood prop. I mean, it wasn’t even a regular wood box which would still have had enough mass even empty to not be accidentally flung around by an errant arm swing. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/238 "2019-08-21T12:56:17Z")
Sets that turn up in work after work with (or without) the slightest modification. I’m thinking specifically about the diner in _ **Pulp Fiction** _. Also, the courtyard on Cestus III in the _ **Star Trek** _ episode “Arena” somehow became that of a Latin American prison on _ **Mission: Impossible** _ (the two series were filmed at Desilu/Paramount studios). In another episode of _ **M:I** _, \*Enterprise \*corridors served as the interior of a secret laboratory behind the Iron Curtain. In both cases, the effect was jarring. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/239 "2019-08-21T12:58:55Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Not a movie, but a tv series. I was just watching an episode of the Australian series, “Doctor Blake Mysteries”. It’s established in the episode that it takes place in 1960. A closeup of a police detective clearly showed that his ears had been pierced. Hairstyles from much later periods on actors playing characters in the '30s, '40s, '50s. I’m thinking here of _MAS_H\*\*\* especially. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319/240 "2019-08-21T17:40:07Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Sets that turn up in work after work with (or without) the slightest modification. I’m thinking specifically about the diner in _ **Pulp Fiction** _. Also, the courtyard on Cestus III in the _ **Star Trek** _ episode “Arena” somehow became that of a Latin American prison on _ **Mission: Impossible** _ (the two series were filmed at Desilu/Paramount studios). In another episode of _ **M:I** _, \*Enterprise \*corridors served as the interior of a secret laboratory behind the Iron Curtain. In both cases, the effect was jarring. There’s an alley in Vancouver that shows up everywhere. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/little-things-that-briefly-take-you-out-of-a-movie/838319.md?page=13)