Continuity mistake: When Michael Jr. is doing his math homework, he holds his pen between his forefinger and middle-finger. In the next camera view, the pen is between his middle-finger and ring-finger. The books are also in different positions. When camera switches back to the first view, everything is as at the beginning again. (00:04:35)
Continuity mistake: When the young Sullivan boy goes to get Rooney's over coat, he walks into the room where the coat is and there is a man laying on the couch, if you notice when the man starts talking to the boy, his cigarette is almost gone, and in the next few seconds it flashes to the man again and he has a cigarette that is almost full. (00:09:20)
Factual error: In the scene where Michael is going to get John Rooney's jacket, we are introduced to the character Conner Rooney. Notice that Conner is smoking a filtered cigarette. The movie takes place during 1931, but filtered cigarettes were not introduced into the market until 1936. (00:09:20)
Revealing mistake: Towards the end of the scene where Connor shoots the wife and younger brother, he looks at his reflection in the glass at the front door. In the shot of Connor walking through that door onto the porch outside, you can see the icicles hanging from the gutter over the porch actually swinging. (00:40:00)
Revealing mistake: Just after Mike Sullivan has taught Michael Jr. to drive, they are driving down a small track with a tractor taking up most of the road. If you look through the bushes on the right side of the track you can see a large modern road with metal barriers. (01:09:45)
Continuity mistake: When Michael is teaching Michael Jr. to drive, the scene opens with the car parked tight on the right hand side of the road. When Michael Jr. pulls away, the car is in the middle of the road. (01:11:50)
Visible crew/equipment: When Tom Hanks first visits a bank to start cashing out all the money, there is a boom mic reflected on the right side of the screen during the long dolly shot when he walks through the building. (01:13:15)
Continuity mistake: After Tom Hanks kills Connor Rooney in the tub, Hanks shows up at the hotel room where his boy runs up to hug him. When they hug, Tom's arms around the boy are left over right, but in the next shot they're right over left. (01:43:45)
Factual error: Tom Hanks is driving his car over a bridge in downtown Chicago in 1931. In the background is the elevated train structure. An aluminum bodied train passes on the trestel in the background. This aluminum bodied train is of 1980's contruction. In the 1930's the train cars were of wood construction and painted brown. They were still in service in the 1950's.
Revealing mistake: At the end when Sullivan is shot in the back while looking out the window, you can see blood come through the front of his shirt, meaning the bullets must have exited his body, yet the window he is standing in front of isn't shattered by the bullets that had passed through him. Also, immediately after this when Jude Law sets up his camera to take photos of Tom Hanks dying, the blood all over the glass is completely gone. The window is clean.
Continuity mistake: In the end of the diner scene Jude Law fires after the car with Sullivan and his son. A bullet goes through the rear window but not through the windshield. We see the bullet path go by Tom Hanks' head. Regardless, there's no bullet hole anywhere in the car afterwards.
Suggested correction: There is a bullet hole in the rear view glass.
Factual error: The film is set in 1931. In several scenes the character of Michael Sullivan Jr. played by Tyler Hoechlin is seen reading a "Lone Ranger" storybook. The Lone Ranger began on radio in January 1933 - print, movie and TV appearances of the character are subsequent to this.
Factual error: In the scene when Mike Sullivan is shown sitting in his classroom, the American Flag behind him has 50 stars, which it wouldn't have in the 30's.
Suggested correction: The spacing of the stars tells me it is a 48-star flag. Hard to see because it is hanging in a fold. The one where he is writing on the board is definitely 48. They probably used the same flag.
Factual error: In the diner scene, the assassin (Jude Law) pours sugar in his coffee. The bottom of the sugar dispenser is exposed to reveal the bar code label. Bar codes were not used in 1931.
Factual error: If the movie is set during 6 weeks of winter in 1931, then why do we hear the sound of crickets during a couple of night scenes?
Continuity mistake: When Sullivan and his son are robbing banks, there are several shots where you can see four or five getaway scenes. If you look closely, you can see them making a getaway from the exact same scene twice.
Continuity mistake: In the scene where Tom Hanks is battling Jude Law in the hotel room, just before you see Hanks shoot the glass vase that shatters in Law's face, there is a shot of Tom Hanks jumping out behind the chest to get the final round off. Unfortunately, Tom Hanks's 1911 is empty in that shot - you can see the slide locked back.
Factual error: The second original old song is "Queer Nations" performed by Fletcher Henderson, but this song was recorded in 1934, not '31.
Continuity mistake: In the scene where Tom Hanks shoots Connor Rooney, you see him dead with a splatter of blood above his head, but Hanks shot the gun at a downward angle.
Continuity mistake: In the scene where Paul Newman's character hands Michael, Jr. a silver dollar, the first camera angle (from Michael's perspective) shows the "heads" side presented toward the kid. The next angle (from the opposite point of view) also shows the dollar with the "heads" side toward the camera, which means the "tails" side (an eagle) is what the kid should have seen.
