# Movie screw ups that made you chuckle **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 19, 2015, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-screw-ups-that-made-you-chuckle/710245 "2015-01-19T02:11:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-screw-ups-that-made-you-chuckle/710245/21 "2015-01-20T01:59:27Z")
It must be an airplane thing. Too expensive to film them for short scenes. I remember a movie with Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner and they were in a small plane that changes in flight. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-screw-ups-that-made-you-chuckle/710245/22 "2015-01-20T04:43:39Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > _Midway_ is full of shit like this as well. Slightly OT, but I recall a story told by a friend who went to see _Midway_ along with an old WW2 pilot (who definitely winced a bit at the planes depicted). They were in a theater with a serious audio system, which played the battle sounds at a near-painful level. At one point the old pilot said (or probably shouted) “Listen, I was _at_ the battle of Midway, and it wasn’t this loud.” ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-screw-ups-that-made-you-chuckle/710245/23 "2015-01-20T07:03:05Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > At one point the old pilot said (or probably shouted) “Listen, I was _at_ the battle of Midway, and it wasn’t this loud.” _ **SENSORROUND!** _ If I knew how to make that as big as how many years that dog lived in the other thread I would have. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-screw-ups-that-made-you-chuckle/710245/24 "2015-01-20T11:25:26Z")
I like the moment in _Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade_ where the bad guy lifts the false grail to his lips, and as he tilt his head back to drain it, you can see a big honkin’ hex nut on the underside of the base. ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-screw-ups-that-made-you-chuckle/710245/25 "2015-01-20T11:41:15Z")
In the 2012 _Dark Shadows_ movie, the character Victoria is taking a train to Maine. Even though it is set in the early 1970’s, the train is being pulled by a 21st century Amtrak locomotive, and the passenger cars are all from the 1990’s. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-screw-ups-that-made-you-chuckle/710245/26 "2015-01-20T14:55:33Z")
The scene in _No Way Out_ where Costner dives into the Georgetown Metro entrance on the C&O towpath. Forget the fact that there’s no Georgetown Metro stop, and if there was, the C&O towpath would be a silly place to put an entrance. Movies require some suspension of disbelief. I was good with that part. But it takes him into \*some other city’s \*subway system, and for me, anyway that was just one too many things to process in the space of a few seconds. Am I supposed to accept that this is supposed to be the D.C. Metro system, even though it looks nothing like it, or am I supposed to assume he’s been teleported to another city? ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-screw-ups-that-made-you-chuckle/710245/27 "2015-01-20T15:01:51Z")
> [@freckafree](#): > > I like the moment in _Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade_ where the bad guy lifts the false grail to his lips, and as he tilt his head back to drain it, you can see a big honkin’ hex nut on the underside of the base. Hey, it’s the _false_ grail. Maybe it was mail-ordered the week before from Taiwan. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-screw-ups-that-made-you-chuckle/710245/28 "2015-01-20T15:10:49Z")
Just saw _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ last night, for the millionth time. One scene always sticks out to me: Jones swims from the tramp steamer to the U-boat. Then what, smart guy? Hold your breath? If the U-boat doesn’t dive, then where’s the bridge watch? ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-screw-ups-that-made-you-chuckle/710245/29 "2015-01-20T15:13:36Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > Just saw _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ last night, for the millionth time. One scene always sticks out to me: > > Jones swims from the tramp steamer to the U-boat. Then what, smart guy? Hold your breath? If the U-boat doesn’t dive, then where’s the bridge watch? That’s a glaring one - my kid asked the same question when we watched the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-screw-ups-that-made-you-chuckle/710245/30 "2015-01-20T15:24:20Z")
Oooo…explained in the original comic adaptation - taken from the original shooting script. The sub dives to PERISCOPE DEPTH. Jones ties himself to the periscope with his bullwhip and is just dragged all the way across the Med hale and hearty. See? Easy-peasy. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-screw-ups-that-made-you-chuckle/710245/31 "2015-01-20T15:31:16Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Oooo…explained in the original comic adaptation - taken from the original shooting script. > > The sub dives to PERISCOPE DEPTH. Jones ties himself to the periscope with his bullwhip and is just dragged all the way across the Med hale and hearty. > > See? Easy-peasy. It all makes sense now. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-screw-ups-that-made-you-chuckle/710245/32 "2015-01-20T15:32:01Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > The scene in _No Way Out_ where Costner dives into the Georgetown Metro entrance on the C&O towpath. > > Forget the fact that there’s no Georgetown Metro stop, and if there was, the C&O towpath would be a silly place to put an entrance. Movies require some suspension of disbelief. I was good with that part. > > But it takes him into \*some other city’s \*subway system, and for me, anyway that was just one too many things to process in the space of a few seconds. Am I supposed to accept that this is supposed to be the D.C. Metro system, even though it looks nothing like it, or am I supposed to assume he’s been teleported to another city? You can suspend disbelief about the existence of stations and their functional geometry, but not about the cosmetic appearance of the interiors? Much simpler to just recognize all of it as taking place in a 'verse a few steps off our own. Which, technically, of course, it has to be, anyway. ---
**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:** [January 20, 2015, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-screw-ups-that-made-you-chuckle/710245/33 "2015-01-20T15:49:47Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > The scene in _No Way Out_ where Costner dives into the Georgetown Metro entrance on the C&O towpath. In _ **Firefox** _, Clint Eastwood takes refuge in the Moscow metro—which it clearly ain’t. It’s the Helsinki metro; if you know both cities, this is something that jumps out at you. (Old Helsinki doubles for Moscow in a lot of movies.) In _ **The Saint** _, Val Kilmer runs from Moscow’s Hotel Ukraina to Red Square in about three seconds. Not possible, unless he’s really The Flash. In one movie (I forget which) a woman is strolling along the waterfront in Venice taking photos; she stops in front of the Bridge of Sighs, turns to her left, and snaps a picture of a gondola in a narrow canal. If you’ve ever been to Venice, you know that what you see from that POV is a vast expanse of water with a cathedral on the other side. ---
**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:** [January 20, 2015, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-screw-ups-that-made-you-chuckle/710245/34 "2015-01-20T15:58:12Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > Just saw _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ last night, for the millionth time. One scene always sticks out to me: > > Jones swims from the tramp steamer to the U-boat. Then what, smart guy? Hold your breath? If the U-boat doesn’t dive, then where’s the bridge watch? That’s the only one that jumps out at you?!? :eek: All of the Indiana Jones movies are so full of holes you could use them as sieves! My great unanswered question: He jumps onto a truck full of German soldiers that’s part of a convoy. Where the hell does he think he’s going to go? All the Gerries have to do is wait until the truck runs out of gas (or otherwise comes to a stop). Hell, just pull up in front of the thing and _force_ it to stop! It’s a good thing for Our Side that the Germans are dumb as a bag of rocks in just about every war movie ever made. (It’s also completely unrealistic!) ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-screw-ups-that-made-you-chuckle/710245/35 "2015-01-20T16:06:50Z")
TV shows are particularly susceptible to this, due to their budget saving over use of stock or reused footage. There is a McMillan and Wife episode, “Night Train to LA”, that takes place on, well, a train. Every establishing shot shows a different train. There are freight engines, passenger engines, there might even be more than one railroad shown. I remember a Hardy Boys episode that had a simple transition shot - the boys got in their car, were shown driving in their car, and then getting out of their car. Must have taken 30 seconds of screen time. In each of the three shots there was a different vehicle and the boys had different clothes. The continuity person must have been on a sick day or something! The oddest use of reused footage was also a McMillian. There were two episodes that involved a car chase. In the first, Mac was following the bad guy, in the second, Mac was being followed. The show used the SAME chase footage for both! Just the closeups were new. Since the two episodes were a couple years apart, I guess the producers figured no one would ever notice. Until DVD, that is. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-screw-ups-that-made-you-chuckle/710245/36 "2015-01-20T16:07:12Z")
_Warm Bodies_ made me chuckle, in that it was filmed in and around Montreal but the actions and movements of the characters don’t correspond at all to its geography. ---
**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:** [January 20, 2015, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-screw-ups-that-made-you-chuckle/710245/37 "2015-01-20T16:19:13Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > _Warm Bodies_ made me chuckle, in that it was filmed in and around Montreal but the actions and movements of the characters don’t correspond at all to its geography. I love _ **Due South** _, but having lived in both Chicago and Toronto, it’s obvious to me that the series was filmed in the latter. There are lots of shots with Canadian flags and the CN Tower in the background. This one goes way back: In one of the _ **Blondie** _ movies from the '30s and '40s (I saw them all on TV when I was a kid), there’s a scene where little Alexander (played by Larry Simms) is trapped in a room in a hotel on fire. The key to his room is actually in the room, but he doesn’t know where it is. The guy who’s trying to help says through the door “Come on, Larry, find the key!” I had to wait for the movie to be rerun before I was sure of what I’d heard; I couldn’t believe it went by unnoticed while they were filming it! ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-screw-ups-that-made-you-chuckle/710245/38 "2015-01-20T16:46:41Z")
Behold, the [fake baby](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLwAcU0bYl0) in _American Sniper_. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-screw-ups-that-made-you-chuckle/710245/39 "2015-01-20T18:47:42Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I love _ **Due South** _, but having lived in both Chicago and Toronto, it’s obvious to me that the series was filmed in the latter. There are lots of shots with Canadian flags and the CN Tower in the background. That was the Sears Tower on, uh, Atkins! ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-screw-ups-that-made-you-chuckle/710245/40 "2015-01-20T19:06:27Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > In _ **The Saint** _, Val Kilmer runs from Moscow’s Hotel Ukraina to Red Square in about three seconds. Not possible, unless he’s really The Flash. In “Mission Impossible 4”, Tom Cruise and Simon Pegg (disguised as russian officers) walk across Red Square to enter the Kremlin, and upon entering…cross the grounds in Prague castle (Czech Republic) ! (I’m guessing Tom remembered those grounds from being there during MI 1). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-screw-ups-that-made-you-chuckle/710245.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-screw-ups-that-made-you-chuckle/710245.md?page=3)