Even the most iconic movies have their occasional slip-ups, but this gives them a certain charm. From the golden age of Hollywood to the blockbuster hits of the ’80s, some of the most beloved films contain little mistakes that have cruised past even the most eagle-eyed viewers. These goofs, far from detracting from the movie, often add something special to the film. They’re charming reminders that even the most significant filmmakers are only human. Let’s take a fun and nostalgic look at 20 movie mistakes from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s that you might have missed.
In the classic war film The Great Escape, Steve McQueen’s character makes a daring motorcycle jump over barbed wire. If you look closely, you can see that the “barbed wire” he leaps over is just a set of harmless ropes. So how did this happen? A last-minute change in the scene saw the original barbed wire swapped out because it was deemed too dangerous for the stunt. The film’s thrilling action scene loses a bit of its edge with this reveal, but it’s still one of the most memorable stunts in cinema history.
Disney’s Mary Poppins, a magical film filled with whimsy, showcases groundbreaking special effects for its time. If you look closely during the scene where Mary Poppins floats down from the sky with her umbrella, there’s a faint outline of the wire that helps her glide gracefully to earth. testament to the pioneering work that went into creating the film’s magic. As much as this is an accident, it’s also a reminder of the way films used to be made. Today you can just wipe out a wire like that on your laptop, but that wasn’t always the case, and these little mistakes show us the things we’ve lost with the rise of filmmaking technology.
In the James Bond classic Goldfinger, there’s a scene where Bond, played by Sean Connery, is driving a car with Tilly Masterson. When the car stops, the window is visibly closed. However, in the next shot, the window is mysteriously down without anyone touching it. It’s a small continuity error, but it’s one that sharp-eyed Bond fans love to point out.
In The Sound of Music, Maria, played by Julie Andrews, arrives at the Von Trapp house with her belongings in a small carpet bag. However, throughout the film, she pulls so many items from this tiny bag, including a guitar, that it makes you wonder why the filmmakers just didn’t give her a larger bag. While it’s a charming bit of movie magic, it’s also a fun continuity error that fans have noticed over the years.
In the counterculture classic Easy Rider, two men chase the American dream on a cross-country ride where they ditch their inhibitions and all vestages of a square life – including keeping time. In the scene, Peter Fonda’s character, Wyatt, tosses his Rolex before riding away. When the camera cuts to a closeup of the same watch it’s clearly a cheap Timex. This doesn’t change the movie or anything like that, but it is funny to think about the filmmakers behind THE counterculture film of the 1960s worrying about getting a fancy watch dirty.
During the climax of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws, there’s the famous moment where Brody (Roy Scheider) tosses an oxygen tank into the shark’s mouth, which later leads to the iconic explosion that ends the film. The weird thing about this scene is that when Bruce the Shark bursts through the window of the sinking boat there’s no oxygen tank visible. In fact, if you watch the scene you actually see the tank float in from some mysterious angle (likely a PA just off camera). It’s a minor continuity error at best, but it’s one more detail that makes Jaws feel like it’s about to go completely off the rails.
In the original Rocky, during the final climactic match against Apollo, you don’t have to look hard to notice that there’s barely anyone in the auditorium where this giant battle is taking place. This is due to the production only being able to wrangle in 50 or so background actors. The filmmakers do their best to hide the fact that no one’s there, but at times it looks like Rocky and Apollo are having the match of their lives in front of empty seats.
In Superman, the Man of Steel (Christopher Reeve) famously flies around the Earth to reverse time and save Lois Lane. However, as he does so, the Earth spins in the wrong direction—if Superman were to fly in the way shown, it would accelerate time, not reverse it! It’s a fun bit of movie logic that doesn’t quite hold up under scrutiny, but it’s still an iconic moment in superhero cinema.
In Apocalypse Now, Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) is on a mission deep into the jungle to find the elusive Colonel Kurtz – or is he? He is. But early in the film Willard is shown a photo of Kurtz and the name tag on his uniform reads “Leighley.” When Willard looks at the photo a second time, the name tag reads “Kurtz.” Even though this feels like time travel shenanigans it’s actually due to a quick rewrite. The character’s name was changed from Kurtz to Leighley and then back to Kurtz during the film’s production after scenes using the Leighley name had already been shot. Who knows why Francis Ford Coppola didn’t go back and fix this egregious mistake, although since he was notoriously driven insane by the making of the film it’s likely that he just didn’t care.
Just how big is E.T.? Throughout E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, E.T. is shown to be about the same size as Elliott, but during the climax of the film he fits perfectly into Elliot’s front basket on his bike. This shouldn’t be possible. Obviously we should just let this go and enjoy the film, but some mistakes are too hard to ignore.
In The Terminator, there’s a scene where the T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) punches through the windshield of a car, completely shattering the glass. But in later scenes with the same car (Kyle Reese burns through vehicles in this movie) the windshield only has a fist sized hole in it. It’s not a big deal, but it’s hard not to think about once you’ve seen it.
In Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Ferris (Matthew Broderick) and his friends take Cameron’s dad’s prized Ferrari out for a joyride. When they return home, they panic, realizing the car has racked up many miles. In their attempt to reverse the mileage by running the car in reverse, the mile counter can be seen fluctuating inconsistently in different shots. While the characters’ plan was doomed from the start, this little mistake adds an extra layer of irony to the scene.
In the sweeping epic Doctor Zhivago, set during the Russian Revolution, there’s a scene where Komarovsky (Rod Steiger) says to Lara (Julie Christie), “I want to avoid Kropotkin Street.” Here’s the rub. Prior to the revoluton the street was called Prechistenka. Kropotkin was an anarchist, and there’s no way that a street would be named for him in Tsarist Russia.
In Ben-Hur, one of the most iconic films of the 20th century, Esther, Tirzah, and Miriam have to shelter from a crazy storm. The wind is whipping, rocks are falling, and the trees? Well the trees in the background of this scene don’t move at all. Once you see it you’ll never be able to look away.
In the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only, there’s an action-packed scene where Bond (Roger Moore) is skiing down a slope while being pursued by enemies. He loses his ski poles in a tumble at one point, but in the next shot, they magically reappear in his hands. It’s a classic continuity error in the world of Bond, but one that doesn’t take away from the thrilling chase sequence.
In Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, there’s a subtle continuity error involving Jack Torrance’s (Jack Nicholson) typewriter. The typewriter’s color mysteriously changes from a white manual Alder to black model. It’s a small, eerie detail that almost feels intentional, adding to the film’s unsettling atmosphere, but it’s more likely just a simple prop switch that went unnoticed during production. Or maybe… it was ghosts.