Best movie continuity mistakes of 1940

Please vote as you browse around to help the best rise to the top.

The Great Dictator picture

Continuity mistake: During the middle of the film, a butler comes in and out of the Dictator's office several times repeatedly. The door is open and shows the corridor outside the office, casting the shadow of a window off-screen. The shadow changes from small to big bewteen shots.

Sacha

More The Great Dictator continuity mistakes
Pinocchio picture Pinocchio mistake picture

Continuity mistake: When Pinocchio is locked up in the cage of Stromboli, Jiminy goes inside the cage lock, and he hangs his coat and hat on the outside of the lock. In the next shot, they have disappeared.

Hamster

More Pinocchio continuity mistakes
Fantasia picture

Continuity mistake: When Mickey walks down the stairs from the fountain, he walks down twelve steps. Later, when he tries in vain to stop the enchanted broom from coming down these stairs, there are at least fifteen steps.

More Fantasia continuity mistakes
Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe picture

Continuity mistake: Chapter 2: Freezing Torture. When Dale falls from the mountain, her pick stays on the top but she still has it in her hands in the next shot.

Dr Wilson

More Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe continuity mistakes
The Sea Hawk picture

Continuity mistake: As the crew of an English ship are crouched down on deck prior to a battle with a Spanish galleon, one of them stands up and moves to the other side. As he does so part of the background projection (ocean and sky) is shown on his back.

More The Sea Hawk continuity mistakes
Swiss Family Robinson picture

Continuity mistake: The number of pirates assaulting the hillside keeps changing. There are hundreds of them, then fewer than thirty, then hundreds again. In many scenes, in fact, there are far more pirates than could possibly fit aboard their one small ship. (01:55:30)

Jean G

More Swiss Family Robinson continuity mistakes
His Girl Friday picture

Continuity mistake: There is a scene when they are all in the press room when he's inside the desk. As Hildy goes to get water you can see she's wearing the black heels she's been wearing throughout the movie. In the next shot as she walks behind the table, if you look through the table legs you can see she's wearing a pair of flat white slippers/loafers.

More His Girl Friday continuity mistakes
The Philadelphia Story picture

Continuity mistake: In the scene where a drunk Connor visits CK Dexter Haven at his home after Uncle Willie's party, Dexter's pyjamas and dressing gown change from shot to shot. First his pyjama top is done up, then it is open, then done up, then open again.

More The Philadelphia Story continuity mistakes
Road to Singapore picture

Continuity mistake: In the first fight scene aboard the boat, Ace's hat falls off his head. He then breaks through a door and falls down. As he stands up, the hat reappears on his head.

More Road to Singapore continuity mistakes
Busman's Honeymoon picture

Continuity mistake: Near the beginning Harriet Vane produces tokens for herself & Lord Peter Wimsey of miniature handcuffs with one cuff "open to symbolise we're giving up on crime". She puts hers on as a bracelet. Immediately after & several times throughout the film it's clear hers is a set of closed handcuffs.

Christopher Walters

More Busman's Honeymoon continuity mistakes
The Shop Around the Corner picture

Continuity mistake: As he is talking, Jimmy Stewart is writing on small boxes and placing them in a pile. He sets one down, and when the camera changes, he's suddenly got one in his hand again. (00:27:35)

Jack's Revenge

More The Shop Around the Corner continuity mistakes
A Kick in Time picture

Continuity mistake: Spunky is set on a stage at the auction once he is delivered there and he tries to run off to the left, but is grabbed by a hand and set back down. He looks around scared for a moment, and then it cuts to a closer angle and suddenly he is looking further to the left, has a tear in his eye, is standing up straight rather than sitting, a guy's face appears in front of him, and a hand is coming from behind him. (00:02:05)

Quantom X

More A Kick in Time continuity mistakes
More Rebecca continuity mistakes
Go West picture

Continuity mistake: Baxter and Beecher are riding in a horse-drawn wagon. As they go across a bridge, the train carrying the Marx Brothers approaches. Baxter and Beecher leap off the bridge, one jumping to the right and one jumping to the left, but they are side by side when they land in the river below.

More Go West continuity mistakes
My Favorite Wife picture My Favorite Wife mistake picture

Continuity mistake: When Ellen tells her mother-in-law about her whereabouts in the Indian Ocean, Irene Dunn's hand is held high up on the column, and at the base in the following shot. (00:09:35)

Sammo

More My Favorite Wife continuity mistakes
More The Mummy's Hand continuity mistakes
Saps at Sea picture

Continuity mistake: Stan puts the half-folded newspaper down on the boat's galley table. One shot later, the paper is completely unfolded and covering the table. (00:46:05)

Jean G

More Saps at Sea continuity mistakes
The Mark of Zorro picture

Continuity mistake: In the climactic sword fight between Power and Rathbone, the Captain hand Diego a sword and they immediately start a classic duel. At end, Diego pulls off a dueling glove that he had never put on.

Fgreene

More The Mark of Zorro continuity mistakes
Elmer's Candid Camera picture

Continuity mistake: When Elmer captures the rabbit in his net, the rabbit is initially standing on concrete but in the next shot he is standing on grass.

More Elmer's Candid Camera continuity mistakes
A Wild Hare picture

Continuity mistake: At the end of the short, Bugs is chewing a carrot and you can see that the carrot is very short, but when Bugs uses his carrot to play a tune when marching back to his rabbit hole, the carrot is now much longer.

More A Wild Hare continuity mistakes

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.