Revealing mistake: After Poirot has inspected the messier of the 2 bottles of nail polish he has a laugh with Race (it almost looks like Ustinov and Niven are breaking character at the end of the shot) and they briefly pass through the murder scene again. Look at Lois Chiles' eyelashes; she's blinking, not quite dead. (01:12:20)
Other mistake: Poirot has uncanny hearing abilities, since he could pick up word for word the conversation Miss Ottenbourne and Ferguson were having several feet behind him at the temple of Karnak. He has also perfect memory, and yet he says that the girl asked the question about libeling the dead "two days ago." The murder (in the movie at least) happens the same evening of the visit at the temple. (01:14:50)
Continuity mistake: Jacqueline moves towards Poirot at the end of the interview with Bowers; her vest is open in the first shot, but in the second, consecutive shot she has her hand in her pocket and her other arm across to keep it closed. (01:17:40)
Continuity mistake: When Poirot and Race enter the doctor's room to check on Simon Doyle, they find him unconscious on the bed. There's a shelf behind the bed with a few books and amongst them the cable of the bedside lamp switch, all tangled up. They revive Doyle, and the cord with its switch dangles off the shelf, on the pillow. Throughout the whole scene now, the cable and switch keep getting on/off the shelf. (01:19:50)
Continuity mistake: When Race and Poirot lift Simon Doyle from the bed, he helps himself up using Peter Ustinov's arm in the first shot, David Niven's in the second. (01:20:05)
Continuity mistake: When Jane Birkin is talking to Poirot in French, David Niven is leaning against the back of her chair with his hand. Cut, and he's watching her with his arms crossed. (01:22:05)
Continuity mistake: During Louise's interview, look behind her as she mentions that naturally, if she "were not able to sleep..." The corner of the room (with the armchair where Poirot sits when he steals Simon's lunch) is entirely in the shade, but it's brightly lit in the rest of the scene. (01:22:40)
Continuity mistake: Poirot enters his bathroom to freshen up. There's a brush on the left side of the sink, placed on top of a box. When the cobra sticks its head up, the brush rests directly on the sink. (01:25:40 - 01:26:05)
Revealing mistake: When a dangerous cobra threatens some stand-in wearing Poirot's pants, under the sink you can see the reflections on the protective glass. (01:25:50)
Continuity mistake: Race hears Poirot's morse code and grabs his mighty swordstick; look at his tie. When he's inside Poirot's room, his Royal Green Jackets tie is styled different; in his own room the small end reach approximately the second-to-last red diagonal stripe of the wide part, while in Poirot's room the small end reaches barely the third-to-last stripe. (01:26:40 - 01:27:15)
Continuity mistake: When Colonel Race comes to Poirot's rescue, Poirot's arm is outstretched and stays that way even after a reaction close-up on Peter Ustinov with his arm lowered, as you can tell by the part of his arm in frame. (01:26:55)
Visible crew/equipment: Poirot and Race pass by the camera to reach the top deck and investigate the noise they heard after the attempt on Poirot's life. When they go up the stairs, you can see a shadow from the camera equipment go slightly up when the camera goes up with them. (01:28:20)
Continuity mistake: When Mrs. Van Schuyler mentions a "popping sound", David Niven's position is different in the two takes; first his hands touch, then he suddenly has one hand on the armrest. Similarly, when she mentions "an indifferent champagne" her hand is on her embroidery, but she was gesticulating away from it before the cut. It's then Peter Ustinov's turn to be inconsistent; Niven asks "Could it have been a small pistol" etc. and Ustinov is fingering his moustache, but in the next shot he isn't. (01:29:00)
Revealing mistake: The Manager Of The Karnak Mr. Choudhury excitedly shouts "goody goody gumdrops" when the crew fishes out from the river the incriminating package. He then runs across the deck to bring it to the investigators. As he does that though, you can see on the floorboards already a wet trail from a previous take. (01:29:45)
Continuity mistake: When Race unfurls the packaging the crew dragged up from the riverbed, the part to his left (right of the frame) immediately comes undone and lines on the table, but in the close-up it opens differently. (01:30:00)
Continuity mistake: Race ends up putting the stained handkerchief to (his) left of the gun, but in the close-up of the table the cloth is on the derringer's right. (01:30:30)
Continuity mistake: When madame Otterbourne says hi from her natural element (the bar), David Niven pokes his head in behind Ustinov's, but in the next shot he's not leaning in, he's more like standing behind him, straight. (01:34:00)
Continuity mistake: When Poirot accuses madame Otterbourne repeating the "can't libel the dead" phrase, Angela Lansbury is staring him down with her left hand nowhere in sight. Reverse angle, and she is clutching her pearls with that hand. (01:35:05)
Continuity mistake: Poirot uncovers the dead body in the ice cellar; he does not touch the body anymore, but the hair is scattered on the table in a different position when Race retrieves the pearls. (01:36:45)
Continuity mistake: Inside Pennington's cabin, Poirot finds the document they were looking. He shows it briefly to Race, who is holding a file with a black binding on the right side (so he's holding it the wrong way). George Kennedy shows up in the next shot, and Race is standing there holding the file this time the correct way, and facing the other way after a further cut. (01:38:05)
