Somewhere In Time

Factual error: When Richard Collier first arrives in 1912, the woman getting dressed in the hotel room is humming "You Made Me Love You," a song not published until 1913. It was first recorded by Al Jolson in June of 1913. The lady in the hotel shouldn't have known it yet. (00:30:00)

Jean G

Factual error: When Richard first enters the 1912 theatre looking for Elise, he passes through a propped-open door that's equipped with a modern day hydraulic closer. (00:42:00)

Jean G

Factual error: The 1912 hotel has frosted light bulbs hanging from the ceiling in some scenes. Frosted bulbs weren't around until the 1940s. (00:43:15)

Jean G

Somewhere In Time mistake picture

Factual error: In scenes that take place in 1912 on the porch of the hotel you can sometimes see American flags in the background. The flags in the movie have 50 stars. The 50 star flag wasn't adopted until after 1959. (01:25:15)

Somewhere In Time mistake picture

Factual error: When Richard Collier encounters the young Arthur in 1912, Arthur is playing with an inflatable rubber ball. Balls of this style were not made until the 1960s.

Factual error: When Richard and Elise are walking down a hallway, he asks when the acting company will leave. Notice the two doors they pass on their left. The doorknobs are modern replacements with large, shiny brass plates that reinforce the door for better security, commonly retrofitted during 1960-1980 in public buildings with older "skeleton key locks". They are seen during the 1980 scenes, but in 1912 they should not be there. Interior locks of that era usually had smaller plates, like the one Richard first sees in the occupied guest room.

Factual error: In the final sequence, Richard Collier is shown sitting in a chair where, as others break into his room, we are lead to believe "he had been for days". Yet his hair is clean and combed, his clothing seems immaculate, and apart from some makeup, he shows no sign of any mental or physical problems.

Factual error: When Richard Collier follows Elise into the restaurant all the men are wearing hats. Their hats would have been checked at the door.

Somewhere In Time mistake picture

Factual error: In scenes that take place in 1912 on the porch of the hotel you can sometimes see American flags in the background. The flags in the movie have 50 stars. The 50 star flag wasn't adopted until after 1959. (01:25:15)

More mistakes in Somewhere In Time

Older Elise: Come back to me.

More quotes from Somewhere In Time

Trivia: When Richard Collier leaves the men's room, bloodied from his first encounter with a straight razor, the bearded man who stares at him in the hall and declares, "Astonishing!" is screenwriter Richard Matheson in a cameo role. His screen credit at the end reads "Astonished Man." (01:01:55)

Jean G

More trivia for Somewhere In Time

Question: Before Old Arthur leaves the room, why did he get the feeling that him and Richard met before?

Answer: Because they had met before. When Richard went back in time to 1912, Arthur was a five-year-old boy. Old Arthur remembers, or at least recognizes, Richard from that time.

raywest

Except that Richard hadn't travelled into the past yet.

Like all time-travel fiction, if he will, then he already did. The portrait he saw in the gallery of Jane Seymour is another example: He brought the smile to her face and IIRC, she changed her pose upon seeing him.

kayelbe

Exactly right. Time-travel films rarely make sense plot-wise. They employ a "suspension of disbelief" where the audience just accepts the premise so the story can be told, regardless of whether or not everything makes sense. As I recall, Jane Seymour's "old character" told Richard to "come back to her," meaning she wanted him to go back in time to when she was young.

raywest

Time Travel movies and shows do this sort of thing often. This movie actually keeps to the premise of time travel pretty well.

Answer: He already did, when the elder Elise approached him and said, "Come back to me." When he visited her home and listened to the music box and replied. "That's my favorite song." He found his name in the old hotel register in the storage room. At the end of the movie, when he returned to the future, Elise was holding his pocket watch, which she returned to him when she was old. All that concludes he did time travel, he just hadn't done it yet.

Thanks. Time travel movies sure are confusing.

More questions & answers from Somewhere In Time

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