Factual error: When M and his entourage arrive at Bond's estate, their cars are surrounded by sheep. They then drive on down an unsurfaced road to Bond's house, past a pride of lions he keeps on the grounds. A series of sweeping overhead shots shows us that it is all one huge field, with no fences or the like. Those sheep aren't going to last very long.
Continuity mistake: When Andress is taken hostage outside the casino, watch the background to see the bouncer walk inside the Royale. Yet, when Sellers runs outside, the bouncer is outside again. (01:41:00)
Visible crew/equipment: When Mimi is escaping from the castle and swinging on the drain pipes, the wire holding the whole lot up is visible. (00:29:10)
Continuity mistake: While going quickly around a sharp bend, the milk float sheds most of its load. In the next shot, the back is full of milk crates again. (00:35:35)
Visible crew/equipment: After Mimi has cut off the magnetic button and launched it away with James' braces, there is a shot of the exploding grouse, and the wires making it fly are visible. (00:31:00)
Continuity mistake: There are sheep all around M's car, but in the short close-up of the chauffeur (John Le Mesurier) getting in, there are none visible through the windows. (00:03:40)
Continuity mistake: When we first see the remote-controlled milk float, its front number plate is normal. When it starts moving, though, there is a piece of red tape over part of the plate. The red disappears again in subsequent shots. (00:34:30)
Continuity mistake: There are several differences between the miniature model of the hovercraft-like thing that Mata is in and the full-size model. For example, the full-size model has red markings near the antennae and a silver bottom, whereas the miniature has no markings and a predominantly red bottom. (01:49:35)
Continuity mistake: There is a scene where Ursula Andress spins in slow motion on her bed, while pink feathers float around her. In the next scene, you can see the pink feathers still in her hair. In the next, they are pink hearts. (00:52:50)
Continuity mistake: Tremble's chips are next to his glass of champagne. However, when we see a close-up of his first hand (3 of clubs and 3 of hearts), Tremble puts his cards down next to his glass, and the chips are not there. (01:37:10)
Continuity mistake: The cupboard in Jimmy Bond's torture chamber contains, among other things, a bowler hat. But when Jimmy opens it, to get his atomic pill, the hat is no longer there. (01:57:05)
Continuity mistake: Cooper slips the strap of Miss Moneypenny's nightie down, but then she sits up and the strap is back up. (00:41:40)
Continuity mistake: The first shot after the opening credits is of 4 cars converging on a junction - the bottommost and topmost arrive first, then the other 2. The next shot shows them arriving again - in a different order. (00:03:20)
Visible crew/equipment: In the shot where the 'Dual Carriageway' sign is seen and the cars drive over the camera, the man driving the milk-float that is meant to be being controlled by radio is visible. (00:35:25)
Factual error: After the grouse shooting scene, there is a map on screen which shows the A230 crossing the England-Scotland border. The A230 is really in Kent. (00:33:30)
Continuity mistake: When James enters M's office, the map on the wall has 2 flags in Canada and 3 across South America. A little later, when Hadley is explaining what they mean, 1 of the Canadian flags and 2 of the S. American ones have vanished. (00:37:00 - 00:38:30)
Continuity mistake: When the bed with Peter Sellers on it starts lowering, from one angle the bed's dropped below the level of the ground around it, but then in a closer shot of Peter Sellers, we can see behind him that it's not moved. The next, wider, shot shows that we should have seen the hole's walls behind him. (00:49:50)
Continuity mistake: Cooper takes Moneypenny's AFSD Report and drops it on the floor. In the next shot it is back on the shelf at the head of the bed. (00:41:45)
Continuity mistake: Forydize is standing right behind Tremble, measuring him for his MI5 clothing. The camera angle changes and now he's standing right in front of Tremble. (01:01:10)
Answer: Given that this is a comedy, the thinking was probably "Well, we'll just blow up your retirement so you've got no choice but to come out of it."
Captain Defenestrator