Period Films and Inaccuraces

[J. M. Stovall]

#2 In the very last scene Jack Black shows up still in his tux with an overcoat and his fedora? No, no, no, that can't be right for full dress! And judging by the character it seems like he would have worn a top hat.

Just a couple of days ago I was flipping and stopped on a movie on TCM. I missed the beginning so I didn't catch the title, but it was a late 30's movie just based on the film quality. And one of the guys was in a tux in the mansion, popped on his fedora and headed out the door. I remembered it just because I was a bit surprised.

More and more I think it's very hard to say with any accuracy what people did day to day 80 years ago.

After I saw King Kong I was convinced that Jack Black's hair was all wrong, but a couple of weeks later TCM proved me wrong again.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

In the very classic, very '30s screwball comedy, Topper, Cary Grant wears a black fedora with his tuxedo while driving around in a convertible. When Grant finally crashes the car and gets thrown out of it, his ghost complains that the fedora is ruined!

That said, Grant was playing a heedless, devil-may-care millionaire. By wearing a fedora with a tux, he may have been deliberately thumbing his nose at "the rules". Emily Post herself said that only a black or midnight blue homburg should be worn with a dark, heavy wool tuxedo. Summerweight tuxedos (midnight blue tux, or cream tux jacket with midnight blue tux trousers) could be worn with straw boaters (with black or midnight blue ribbons).


.

 

[Twitch]

Marc- I haven't seen Chinatown probably since it was new and what I recall was one mistake- when filming driving scenes the California reflective lane buttons on the white road stripes stuck out like crazy. Didn't have those in the movie's era. But that didn't ruin the film for me. That type of thing would send folks into a frenzy these days.

 

[jitterbugdoll]

Another fashion-related inaccuracy in King Kong--Jack Black mentions not being able to find someone to fit into the original actress' size six costumes, and of course that size did not exist then. This may not be an inaccuracy per se, because most people wouldn't get that a size 12 would have been quite tiny in 1933.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Our comments got me to thinking: if something in a film is period inaccurate and the audience doesn't spot it ... does the mistake matter? (Sort of like, "If a tree falls in the forest ...")

 

[Paul Maurice]

How could they be right, anyway ?

I think I've passed over those little "film bugs", and try not to search for the faulty details anymore. The truth is, if you really want to watch a perfect movie about the 40s (for example), the best thing to do is to watch a movie made in the 40s. First of all the quality of the actors is the best we can get:eusa_clap , Secondly being too picky about details really spoil the pleasure of the real story.:eusa_doh:
About the King Kong one, what would you expect from a guy who made Lord of the rings ? Nothing else than a previously Classic made, but this time bloody too long and drowning in FX.
Such a pity... No pleasure anymore, just money making


P.S. who remember the guy with the base ball cap in Pirates of the Caribbean ?

 

[Story]

Last of the Mohicans, 1936 and 1992

Compared to the 1936 version, the 1992 LOTM rocked.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/6305772835/102-6454015-3436116?v=glance&n=404272

The occasional prop company British regimental (jacket) from the 1936 movie shows up on eBay for less than $100 and from what I could see, they pale in comparison to today's stitch-accurate copies (which start at $275). I think Stembridge was even supplying visually modified Springfield trapdoor rifles with blank cartridges for the 1936 version.

Chingachgook's weapon was period correct I believe. It is called a gunstock club. When a longrifle was damaged, the owner could cut off the foreend and use it as a club. They could be decorated with brass tacks and/or the addition of a knife or two in the end. A formidable weapon.
What did not seem correct was the shape. It looked too thick from what I remember.

I did a bit of research before working on my own ball club - the original gunstock club idea became popular beyond the supply of broken muskets and was copied from raw wood, the musket shape being iconically powerful. The brass tacks and feathers were more indicative of western tribes (and more 19th century) or eastern tribes peddling souveniers to pale face tourists (from 1850 onwards).

There's also the theory that the ball or gunstock club was expended like a round of ammunition rather than a 'keeper' weapon - the clubs were often left on the body of a vanquished enemy, after taking his musket/rifle.

After seeing that movie, I realized for the first time what an incredible weapon a tomahawk was in the hands of someone who knew how to use it..

Pilgram,
Check out this manual, for an idea of how effective the tomahawk/warclub can be - http://www.paladin-press.com/detail.aspx?ID=1095

 

[CharlieH.]

I simply hate it when a movie's art directors miss a few spots in the set's period decor. One of my biggest peeves is watching a movie set in the 40's (or before) and seeing a telephone with a coiled, plastic-wrapped cord. It always happens, even in the supposedly real Roswell alien autopsy film (which was supposedly made in 1947).
The most glaring mistakes I can remember were in Pearl Harbor (One of the worst movies I've seen in my life). During the attack scenes there are plenty of ships that were obviously built no earlier that the 1980's, there's a car with 1943 liscence plates, among others, but the one that takes the cake (as far as I remember) was a split-second shot from inside a train where there was an Amtrak diesel in plain view. Well, at least I thought it was that.

 

[Irena]

I think that if a film has a good story line and good actors, little inacuracies make no difference in the quality of the movie. Of course, if an inaccuracy is so obvious or the actors so bad that you are draw from the story, it can cause a problem. Just sit back and enjoy the movie! Movies (except for some documentaries) are meant as entertainment. When you go to the theatre, you don't complain about the way the curtain at the side of the stage drew your mind from the story. You simply let the actors pull you in.

I do thouroughly enjoy a period film that is very accurate. What does bother me is when the actors' reactions and such aren't period accurate. That just ruins the movie. Sets and props, on the other hand, can have a little more slack.

I'm sorry if this post is a little garbled and/or repetitive. My mind went to bed with the sun over an hour ago.

 

[jake_fink]

Anybody ever see Captain Blood with Errol Flynn:

Riddled with inaccuracies. Ruined it for me.

 

[BellyTank]

Wristwatches and Chuck Taylors in 'Ben Hur'.

B
T

 

[J. M. Stovall]

Anybody ever see Captain Blood with Errol Flynn:

Riddled with inaccuracies. Ruined it for me.

Good one Jake. It drive me crazy when I'm watching The Ten Commandments and I'm thinking, they didn't weave fabric like that back then, and what's up with those sandles!

 

[jake_fink]

I think it was Joey Pants on The Sopranos who said of Spartacus - Look at the @#@$#%@ flat top haircut on Kirk Douglas, he's supposed to be a gladiator, they didn't have @#^@^%# flattop *@##&&!@ haircuts back then! !%@%#%#%!

 

[Twitch]

Ok so you think all the "classics" are perfect, huh? Here's a list of goofs from the May 19 Long Beach paper:

1. "Citizen Kane" (1941): Susan Alexander Kane (Dorothy Comingore) is shown finishing a jigsaw puzzle. In a later scene, she is just starting it.

2. "Casablanca" (1942): Major Strasser (Conrad Veidt) is a Gestapo officer, but is wearing a Luftwaffe uniform.

3. "The Godfather" (1972): It is supposed to be the late 1940s, but Sonny's (James Caan) car radio is tuned to the 1951 playoff between the Giants and Dodgers.

4. "Gone With the Wind" (1939): As Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) walks to a hospital to nurse Civil War wounded, an electric street light is visible behind her.

5. "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962): The film is set during World War I. So why is there a jet contrail in the skies over Damascus?

6. "The Wizard of Oz" (1939): After falling into the pig pen, Dorothy's (Judy Garland) dress is immaculate.

7. "The Graduate" (1967): Ben (Dustin Hoffman) is driving toward Berkley via the Bay Bridge. But he is going in the wrong direction.

Quick dry

8. "On the Waterfront" (1954): When Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb) emerges from the harbor water after being thrown in, his hair is completely dry.

9. "Schindler's List" (1993): The time is World War II, but a bottle of Hennessy cognac is shown in a bottle that was not in use until the 1990s.

10. "Singin' In the Rain" (1952): The plot is set in 1927, but the police officer Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) meets during the title song and dance has a badge not adopted by LAPD until 1950.

11. "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946): Clarence the angel (Henry Travers) screams for help while drowning in ariver. But his lips are not moving.

12. "Sunset Boulevard" (1950): At one point, the sun glasses worn by Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) reflect the several production crew members and equipment.

13. "The Bridge on the River Kwai" (1957): Wind marks appear on the river water. They are from a helicopter filming a scene.

14. "Some Like It Hot" (1959): Mountains appear in a scene taking place in Florida, where there are no mountains.

Force is with him

15. "Star Wars" (1977): As the light-saber battle begins between Darth Vader and Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi, the latter (Alex Guinness) turns his on and a cord can be seen running up his sleeve.

16. "All About Eve" (1950: Phoebe (Barbara Bates) looks at herself in a mirror, a production crew member is visible sitting on a crane behind her.

17. "The African Queen" (1951): Charlie Allnut (Humphrey Bogart) throws an anchor overboard. Boat stops. Scenery keeps moving.

18. "Psycho" (1960): As Marion (Janet Leigh) drives through the night, the gear shift in her car remains in the "park" position.

19. "Chinatown" (1974): A Social Security card shown in the film is the 1970s style — blue and red ink. But 1937 cards had only one color. Picky, picky, picky.

20. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1975): As Randall McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) dances with a patient, the shadow of a camera is visible on their backs.

 

[Absinthe_1900]

My favorite:

The Prince Who Was A Theif http://cruel.imdb.com/title/tt0043935/

Tony Curtis as Julna, who uttered the classic Arabian Night type dialog:

"Yonder, lies da castle of my fadder da King."

 

[Twitch]

And here's some more flaws for the anally retentive to complain out in movies:

"Platoon" (1986): Set in 1967, the film shows Bunny (Kevin Dillon) listening to Merle Haggard's "Okie from Muskogee". It was not recorded until 1969.

"The Last Emperor" (1987): Johnson (Peter O'Toole) is preparing to sail from China in 1931. But a background sign is written in Chinese characters not used until 1949.

"Rain Man" (1989): A glass pillar shows the reflection of a woman motioning extras to walk past the camera.

"Driving Miss Daisy" (1989): Alabama state troopers wearing patches of Georgia troopers?

"Dances With Wolves" (1990): One of the wolves can be seen wearing a choke collar.

"Silence of the Lambs" (1991): A camera crew is reflected in the sunglasses worn by Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins).

"Unforgiven" (1992): the action takes place in 1880 and 1881. However, the characters are wearing belt loops which did not become a fashion item until the 20th century.

"Schindler's List" (1993): At the train station, a German officer is thumbing through pages of names. In reality, all the pages are the same.

"Forrest Gump" (1994): On the football field, Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) has no shadow. His teammates do.

"Braveheart" (1995): Twice during this epic of the 13th century, a Ford van shows up briefly in the background.

"The English Patient" (1996): An officer in the German interrogation center wears the shoulder boards of a major and the collar insignia of a colonel.

"Titanic" (1997): Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) talks about ice-fishing on Lake Wissota in Wisconsin. But the artificial lake was not created until five years after the Titanic sank in 1912.

"Shakespeare in Love" (1998): Will (Joseph Fiennes) is playing a tambourine with a musical group when he meets Viola (Gwyneth Paltrow). He stops to talk with her, but the sound of the tambourine can still be heard.

"American Beauty" (1999): When Colonel Fitts (Chris Cooper) punches his son, there is blood on the boy's nose before the father connects.

"Gladiator" (2000): The setting may be ancient Rome, but look closely into the eyes of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) and you will see her contact lenses.

"A Beautiful Mind" (2001): When John Nash (Russell Crowe) receives his Nobel Prize, the prize founder's name is misspelled on the rostrum at "Alfred Noble".

"Chicago" (2002): Near the end of the movie, the coat worn by Roxie (Renee Zellweger) appears unbuttoned, then buttoned, then unbuttoned, then buttoned again.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (2003): At one point, smoke is seen pouring back into chimneys instead of pouring out of them.

"Million Dollar Baby" (2004): When Maggie's family visits her in the hospital, her sister is carrying a baby. When they leave the hospital, the baby appears to have been left behind.

"Crash" (2005): In a scene with Jean Cabot (Sandra Bullock) lying in bed, the reflection and shadow of a film crew member can be seen as he tries to run from being included in the scene.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

"It's a Wonderful Life" (1946): Clarence the angel (Henry Travers) screams for help while drowning in ariver. But his lips are not moving.

Well, he is a supernatural being. Perhaps a supernaturally good ventriloquist?

.

 

[Andykev]

Asleep at the switch?

You would think that today, with all the ILM, graphics, Dream Works, computers....etc. that there would be NO goofs. Just digital wipe them away! Don't the film editors view frame by frame?

 

[Cobden]

In the remake of the Railway Children, the station is Southern Railway green (1923-1948), the loco's are correct, but not for the supposed location (they are correct for Kent) and the carriages are from the North East!

In Poirot, no matter where he travels, he always seems to travel in Southern Railway carriages. Even if he is going to Scotland.

 

[Cobden]

2. "Casablanca" (1942): Major Strasser (Conrad Veidt) is a Gestapo officer, but is wearing a Luftwaffe uniform.

To be fair, it doesn't actually mention what branch of the German military he belongs to. He is just "of the Third Reich". Although why an luftwaffe major commands so much authority is beyond me.

I always liked the fact the epaullettes on his coat vanish and reappear between shots in the last scene