Continuity mistake: Gen. Sternwood says to Marlowe that he's, "crippled, paralyzed in both legs" but not 10 seconds later we see him move both of his legs and his feet move throughout the scene. (00:03:35)
Other mistake: Marlowe tells Lauren Bacall to start screaming in 20 seconds after he leaves the room, she does and Lash Canino is outside and hears her. He runs into the house and if you look closely the prop porch railing almost falls over as he runs by because the crew did not attach it properly. Later we see it again and it's attached properly. (01:41:35)
Continuity mistake: The next morning after going to Lido Pier, Marlowe walks into the waiting room of his office and Lauren Bacall is sitting there reading a magazine as she waits for him. The lighting on her changes and the picture on the wall behind her head is lowered about six inches between shots. (00:32:20)
Audio problem: The second time he's in Geiger's house, Marlowe goes into several rooms and turns on a light switch as he snoops around. The light does not come on until a fraction of a second after the switch has been thrown, and the sound of the switch being thrown does not happen until after his hand stops moving. (00:28:30)
Character mistake: When Lauren is playing roulette, she has $14,000 worth of chips sitting on red - if she wins, she gets double, $28,000; and if she loses, she loses all of the $14,000 - but the croupier is troubled and says to Lauren that she hasn't got enough to cover the bet, which is ridiculous; all her $14,000 chips are sitting on red, what more does she need? Even the head croupier is called in, and, after much chatting, all the other players are asked to take their chips away as only Lauren is playing this round, which is ridiculous: All they have to lose is $28,000; that's nothing for them.
Continuity mistake: There's a white cushion that Gen. Sternwood has for his back that is sticking out in some shots and then disappears later in the scene. (00:05:35)
Continuity mistake: Lash Canino leaves after he kills Harry Jones and Marlowe runs to the door after him. At first he has both hands on the door but in the next shot his left hand is on the sofa. (01:32:10)
Continuity mistake: The hostess shows Marlowe Eddie Mars' room but in the next shot as he walks into it a table with a statue on it replaces the chair that was there in the previous shot. (01:07:55)
Continuity mistake: As Marlowe puts Carmen Sternwood onto Geiger's sofa there's a coat on the left arm rest. When he came into the room it wasn't there. (00:23:45)
Continuity mistake: The mat on Arthur Gwynn Geiger's desk is flush with the edge of the desk when Marlowe snoops around in it. As he thumbs threw the codebook he doesn't go near the mat but in the next shot it's slid over the side of the desk. (00:24:10)
Continuity mistake: Mona Mars tells Marlowe, "Eddie's not that kind," as she holds a glass of water in the palm of her left hand. In the next shot, both her hands are around the top of the glass. (01:38:15)
Continuity mistake: Marlowe says to Eddie Mars as he's about to leave his office, " Oh, Eddie, you don't have anybody watching me, do you?" And the collar of Marlowe's shirt is tucked under his jacket. The next time we see it about a second later it's been ruffled up and is no longer tucked under his jacket. (01:10:20)
Continuity mistake: Marlowe pulls his car up and parks in front of the Randall Arms apartments waiting for Lauren Bacall. A guy is walking towards the entrance across the street and in the next shot he disappears. (00:47:15)
Visible crew/equipment: When the light hits Dorothy Malone's glasses in the Acme Book Shop the flat reflection reveals they are flat-lensed prop glasses. (00:15:35)
Continuity mistake: As Marlowe leaves Geiger's bookstore a policeman is walking by outside. In the next shot the policeman is gone. (00:14:55)
Visible crew/equipment: In his apartment after Carmen and Lauren Bacall have gone, Joe Brody says to Marlowe, " I followed him, he turned west on SunsetÂ…" and a boom mike shadow can be seen several times crossing the couch behind Agnes. (00:55:30 - 00:56:20)
Continuity mistake: Even though no one goes near them, the jar and the statue of a horse on Marlowe's desk move between shots as Lauren Bacall sits down on it while speaking to him about Carmen. (00:33:05)
Continuity mistake: Lash Canino turns out the light after he kills Harry Jones. In the next shot when Marlowe walks into the room the lights are back on. (01:29:40)
Continuity mistake: Eddie Mars finds Geiger's blood on the carpet, lifts it up and sees that it's seeped through to the floor. There's actually no blood on the carpet in the first place because when he lifts it up we see the back of it and it's totally dry and white in color. (00:43:40)
Continuity mistake: Marlowe tails Arthur Gwynn Geiger up to his house and we see the passenger seat and nothing is on it. In the next close-up shot Marlowe's coat is draped over the seat. (00:19:35)
