Other mistake: At the start, we see PT Barnum in the shadows. However his waistcoat is lit up in one shot despite the lights all being behind him. (00:00:40)
Continuity mistake: When young PT makes young Charity laugh, she spills tea over her dress, leaving it soaking wet. When the angle changes it's almost dry. (00:03:50)
Continuity mistake: Just as young PT starts singing A Million Dreams, Charity's hair keep changing from in front of her shoulder to over her shoulder. (00:05:10)
Continuity mistake: When Barnum is writing a letter to Charity near the start he is right handed. When we see him just before he is fired he is left handed. (00:06:45 - 00:11:00)
Continuity mistake: When Young PT is offered the apple, his position changes in relation to the poster behind him. (00:07:30)
Continuity mistake: When Charity is playing on the roof with the girls, she is around 6ft away from the washing basket in one scene and right next to it after the camera changes. (00:12:20)
Continuity mistake: PT arrives home to tell Charity that he's been fired. Depending on the angle, a long strand of hair falls over her left cheek or not. This keeps swapping back and forth. (00:12:50)
Other mistake: When Charity makes her wish the spinning cage has almost stopped. However the lights continue to spin at speed around the family. (00:15:20)
Continuity mistake: When PT is showing the family his museum, he picks one of the girls up with her facing him. Camera changes and now she's facing away from him. (00:18:00)
Continuity mistake: When PT is handing out flyers you can see there is none on the floor. However a few shots later the floor is littered with flyers. More than was handed out. (00:18:50)
Continuity mistake: At the start of Come Alive, PT stands in front of his museum and is on a wet patch of ground. Camera cuts and now the floor is dry. (00:25:15)
Visible crew/equipment: While Barnum and Phillip sing "The Other Side" Phillip uses two stools to get up and down from the bar top. When he steps down from the bar top, in this wideshot (also the first shot of them in the pub and other shots) the two upright stools Phillip used are secured with additional support, note the floor area underneath the stools' legs have the same pattern as the rest of the floor, though we can see the outline where the pattern's lines don't match up. Additionally, we also see three actors' marks (in the shape of an "L") on the floor in front of the bar, which will be where Barnum and Phillip will stand when they agree on the ten percent. (00:36:05)
Continuity mistake: During The Other Side, the peanut shells keep appearing and disappearing between shots. (00:37:05)
Revealing mistake: While Barnum and Phillip are singing "The Other Side" Phillip knocks over the first stool then steps on its side, and in this closeup we can see the extra two flat bars attached between the legs, for him to easily step on. We also see that the stool's seat is perfectly round in the closeup, but in previous and following shots, such as when Carlyle jumps off the bar then grabs his hat, one side of the seat has been cut to allow it to rest flat on the floor while on its side. Presumably, the closeup was digitally edited to make the seat appear round. (00:38:05)
Factual error: When they go to visit the Queen, the Union flag is being flown above Buckingham Palace. The Union flag is only flown when the Queen is not in residence. As the Queen is in residence, the 'Royal Standard' flag should be flown. And anyway, the Union flag has only been flown at the palace since the death of Princess Diana in 1997. (00:43:00)
Continuity mistake: When Jenny Lind is first introduced and is walking in, she doesn't have gloves on. When PT Barnum and Phillip Carlyle kiss her hand she's wearing formal gloves. (00:44:35)
Continuity mistake: During the "This is me" sequence, the tattooed man is wearing a red cape. During the last few seconds of the song, he loses the cape and then it reappears again. (00:59:55)
Factual error: When Philip and Anne are at the theatre, Philip's parents confront him about being with "the help." Anne leaves and walks out the door next to a revolving door. Revolving doors were not invented until 1888. PT Barnum's Museum opened in 1842 and burned down in 1865. (01:02:31)
Continuity mistake: Throughout Rewrite the stars, the marks on Phillip's trousers are constantly changing between shots. (01:03:00)
Other mistake: Ann rolls down the rope and lands in Phillip's arms just as the camera changes. In the second camera shot, the rope that Ann has just rolled down is perfectly still. Not possible after Ann rolled down the rope less than half a second before. (01:03:00)
Answer: In those days that would be a normal punishment for P.T.'s behaviour. His father could have said something but did not want to lose a customer. P.T. also did not want his father to lose a customer because they knew getting money was worth taking the hit. If they had enough money to miss one customer it may have been different.
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