Continuity mistake: When they are all lined up for their medical inspection at the beginning of the film, the sun is coming up behind the hut casting a shadow in the front. When the Sargeant Major is then shown shouting from the hut, "I want this one (Bartlet) scrubbed with a yard broom." You can now see by the shadows that the sun is shinning directly at the hut. This would be impossible as there is only a few seconds between shots for this change to happen.
Continuity mistake: When they are all standing on parade for Commandant's inspection, McGrath says to Roberts, "White wash Roberts. You're too damn clever by half Roberts." So by saying this he is informing us that he wasn't aware that Roberts had cleaned Steven's pack, by rubbing it on the wall. Yet, was awake the previous night and fully aware that Roberts was cleaning his kit, by rubbing it on the white washed wall.
Continuity mistake: When the commandant comes into the prison in his jeep just after the Sergeant Major says to King: "Then you can drill with these men and you can dance over that hill with them," he takes out his pocket watch from his LEFT breast pocket to check the time the commandant arrived Up to this point, and just before this shot, his pocket watch has always been in his RIGHT breast pocket, where it remains for the rest of the film.
Visible crew/equipment: When it is the just the Medical officer and the Sargent Major in the cell after Williams has sent them to the showers: the M.O walks from the door to sit on one of the beds, as he turns to sit down the shadow of the camera man is cast on him.
Visible crew/equipment: When the "weak" soldier finally breaks down and walks to and fro across his cell, there are lights visible in the ceiling.
Continuity mistake: When Roberts is having his medical inspection at the beginning of the film, you can see over his shoulder behind him the prison guard standing outside with his clip board. This is where he has been standing all the time the medicals having been taking place. The moment Roberts is leaving the hut, he can be seen still standing there, but a frame later, filmed from the outside, he is nowhere to be seen and is not even shown walking off.
Visible crew/equipment: As King is returning from his medical inspection to the line up: you can see on the ground in front of the soldiers a mat, possibly for the camera dolly to roll on. In the next shot, from a different angle, it has been removed.
Visible crew/equipment: When they are being taken for their first run on the hill by Williams the camera is positioned on top of the hill filming them 'doubling' round the bottom of the hill, as this is being shown you can briefly see the shadow of the camera crew on top of the hill.
Visible crew/equipment: Near the beginning of the film the RSM tours the prison, walking toward the camera as it is pulled backwards. You can see tracks in the sand from the dolly that supports the camera.
Factual error: When the prisoners are taking a shower Roberts says to another prisoner as he goes to turn on the water "not that one, it turns on the gas" - a reference to Nazi death camps that used shower rooms to gas people. But this film is set during WW ll when this info was not known by rank and file soldiers - it only became known near or even after the end of the war.
Other mistake: In various scenes during the movie, a stretcher with the dead body of Stevens is being carried around the prison. There is obviously nothing on the stretcher but a blanket. There is no body, whether actor, dummy or other, just a blanket over an empty stretcher.
