Death on the Nile

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)

Sammo

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)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: When the doctor starts cleaning Simon's wound, there's barely any blood on the side, but in the next shot, from the side, there's still a lot of it. (01:04:30)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: When Ferguson helps Simon Doyle on the couch, his tie slides off Simon's non-injured leg once, then in the next shot it is on it again and re-slips. (01:00:55)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: At the beginning of the scene when Jackie gets drunk in record time, David Niven's shadow on the curtain changes sharply when the angle switches the first time; in the closer view he casts a deep shadow right behind his head, while in the wide angle of the room there's barely any shadow. In the same transition, Linnet is touching the cards with both hands first, simply holding her cigarette in the second shot. (00:57:55)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: When the doctor feels the need to make a precise assessment of the stone's age, the maid is suddenly close to the big rock between shots. (00:49:00)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: Linnet is enraged because apparently Salome Otterbourne featured her in her fiction book and equated her to "a nymphomaniacal baboon." Nonsense aside, she gets up holding the book. Angela Lansbury is looking at her, left hand upturned. Cut, and she is staring at her with both hands in her lap, downturned. (00:35:35)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: Mrs. Salome Otterbourne sits next to Linnet. Linnet is holding an object between her hands; when Salome says that writers can get flowery in their speech, Linnet replies drily, but the hands changed also position. They were at the same level in the first shot, they are one on top of the other in the follow-up. (00:35:00)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: Bowers and Van Schuyler retire in the cabin leaving Linnet behind them. The deck is dusky, but in the reverse angle that follows, there she is, on the fully sunlit deck. (00:34:30)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: Simon and Linnet regain their wits after the unexpected encounter with Jackie on top of the pyramid of all places. They make out, and Linnet's hair changes radically position depending on the camera angle throughout the whole snogging. (00:14:35)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: When Simon frees the horse's reins from under the stone, the saddle blanket all of a sudden folds between shots. (00:13:25)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: On the top of the pyramid, Linnet whispers "Silly" to Simon's question about her happiness, and she holds him close. Her thumb is on display at the side of his bicep, but at the cut it's on the part of the arm that faces her. (00:12:20)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: In the introduction of her character, Bowers tells Mrs. Van Schuyler "What do I care" to her threat. She sits straight, with the cigarette hand slightly below chin level. In the wide angle she sits back, with the cigarette hand resulting at a higher position. (00:09:45)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: When Jackie tells Linnet that she has a favour to ask, she holds the box at different height and tilt during the conversation, and the position of her fingers on it changes as well. (00:05:40)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: When the butler tells Linnet Ridgeway that the architect isn't there yet, she turns towards him dramatically in the first shot, and in the following she again turns towards him. (00:04:30)

Sammo

Plot hole: According to the denouement sequence shown in the film, Linnet Ridgeway is shot asleep in her bed approximately three minutes after retreating from the lounge. Less than 2.5 minutes pass from the moment Linnet leaves the lounge to the moment when Doyle is left alone by the other guests. It takes another 30 to 45 seconds for him to pick up the pistol, rush into his cabin and kill his sleeping wife. How could Linnet have walked to her cabin, taken off her jewelry, changed into her night-dress, retired to bed, and fallen asleep in 180 seconds? (00:59:00)

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: The sequence never showed when Linnet goes to sleep. We can't be sure how long it is between her leaving and Simon shooting. All we know is in the actual scene she leaves after having already taken a sleeping pill. This is "movie time", not real time. 3 mins can be 30 mins in movie time. The flashback sequence doesn't clarify anything based on her timeline.

This...is not at all what happens. This is the 1978 movie; Linnet is playing cards with the others up until a moment before cutting the game short not by her choice but because of Jackie's interference, so certainly took no pill in advance nor does she take one on screen, and the characters interact with no interruption from that point on leaving no room for an implied 'movie time' elapsing at a significantly slower rate than 'real' time.

Sammo

More mistakes in Death on the Nile

Mrs. Van Schuyler: You need a nice cool holiday, I was thinking of a trip along the Gobi Desert.

More quotes from Death on the Nile
More trivia for Death on the Nile

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.