Factual error: Towards the end, when young girls are 'interviewed' for stewardess' positions, one of them sings part of John Denver's 'Leaving on a Jet Plane'. That song was on John Denver's debut LP "Rhymes and Reasons" which was released in 1969, and made popular by Peter, Paul & Mary, but by then Abignale was already in jail in France, having been arrested two years prior, in 1967. (01:47:00)
Factual error: In the scene where Handratty hits the button to stop the press, suddenly individual checks come flying up from the press. This could not happen. On such a large press the checks would be printed several up on a large sheet of paper, to be cut down after printing is completed. (01:53:10)
Factual error: When Handratty presses the emergency stop button at the printers, it causes paper to fly all over the place. Pressing the emergency stop would also stop the sheet feeder, and therefore stop the paper feeding through the press. (01:53:10)
Audio problem: When Handratty is in France telling Frank that there are 20 officers outside, you can see when the camera turns to Frank, Handratty's mouth is still moving despite the fact that he is not talking. (01:55:40)
Continuity mistake: In the scene where Handratty is arresting Frank in France, Frank is about to run out the door with the cheques and Handratty says he will be killed if he runs out. As Frank walks back toward Handratty , Frank's arm position as he's holding the cheques goes from right-over-left to left-over-right as the shot changes, and the cheques are piled in his arms completely differently from one shot to the next. (01:56:02)
Audio problem: As Frank Jr. is being arrested in France, a choir is singing in the background. As the arrest takes place, the choir stops to follow the action however the song continues. (01:57:05)
Factual error: When Frank is arrested in France, Handratty bends over to look at him through the rear window of the police car. You can clearly see the lines of the window defogger on Handratty's face. Cars did not have electric defoggers like that in the late 1960s. (01:57:35)
Factual error: In the scene where Frank Abagnale is arrested in France, on of the police cars has a license plate that ends with 'PP 41'. Now the last two digits are a code for a particular French district ('departement') and the two letters indicate the age of the car, i.e. the first licence plates ever had the letters AA, then AB, all the way through to ZZ and most recent licence plates have three letters. For this particular 'departement' the highest possible letter sequence would have been HH for 1969 and JB for 1970. So this particular car, or its license plate, is much more recent than 1969 or 1970. (01:57:45)
Continuity mistake: About 3/4 of the way through the movie, it shows Frank and Handratty on a plane back to the US. Frank has been resting his head on a small pillow against the window and pulls it down. Next shot, he pulls it down from the window again. (01:57:55)
Factual error: On the plane, while being escorted by FBI agents, Frank Jr sees New York's LaGuardia Airport and says, "There it is, LaGuardia Airport, runway 44." A runway numbered 44 is impossible. No runway can be numbered over 36 because there are 360 degrees in a circle. (01:58:25)
Continuity mistake: As the plane lands in New York, there is a brief shot of the landing gear where a modern wide jet engine nacelle is visible. In all other shots the correct long skinny 60's style nacelle is seen. (02:00:45)
Factual error: Just after Carl finds out that Frank has escaped through the plane's lavatory, there is a shot of the plane landing. The plane shown is an Airbus A310, which didn't enter service until 1983, 14 years later. Also, TWA never operated the A310. Later, when Frank climbs out from the landing gear as the plane is taxiing, the aircraft is a Douglas DC-8. (02:00:53)
Factual error: In a telephone conversation scene between Frank and Handratty, Frank is using a phone that has a plug type receiver. The phones in that era were all hard wired.
Factual error: In an early scene where Frank Sr. and Jr. go to the Chase Manhattan bank in New York (1962) a Duane Reade Drug Store with new (1998) store signage is seen in the background.
Factual error: In the scene where Frank first meets the candy striper at the nurses' station, you can see a gray Notifier annunciator for the fire alarm system on the wall. These are for a digital system that could not have been around at that time.
Factual error: The green-capped McCormick spices on the spice rack in the apartment were not available in the early 1960s.
Continuity mistake: When Frank is eating dinner with Amy Adams and her family his napkin is in a different spot in each shot.
Continuity mistake: In the scene where Frank is pulling down the second suitcase of money from the top of the bed canopy while talking frantically to Brenda, the large portion of the suitcase is initially on top when the suitcase is put on the bed. But when the camera returns to another shot of the suitcase as Frank is opening it, the large portion of the suitcase is on the bottom.
Suggested correction: Both portions of the suitcase are exactly the same.
Factual error: When Frank goes to pick up his fiance at the Miami airport, he is driving a 1964 Chevelle. Quick shots of the car show that the hubcaps on the Chevelle belong to a 1965 Chevelle SS, which would be incorrect for a 1964 model.
Factual error: 3-28-04 7:11pm CST In the scene when Frank shows up at the Miami International airport in a Checker Cab. The cab is no older than a 1978 model. That was the year that the bumpers changed from chrome to the heavy iron style we see in the shot.
