Catch Me If You Can

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.

Factual error: When Carl explains the check system to the other police officers, they show a map of the USA with Kansas City in Nebraska instead of Kansas, and Boston in Maine instead of Massachusetts. The next time the map was shown, the cities are at the good place and the shades of gray are different. (00:43:20)

Dr Wilson

Audio problem: Frank's mother spills some wine on the carpet, but the you can hear the sound one or two seconds before she actually did it. (00:12:00)

Dr Wilson

Video

Continuity mistake: In the scene where Frank's mother spills red wine on the carpet the stain shifts altogether once the next shot shows his parents dancing. (00:12:00)

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: When Frank Jr. is watching Mitch Miller with Brenda's family, there is no bouncing ball on the words on the screen like there was on the actual show. (01:31:20)

Other mistake: In the scene where Frank is watching the Bond film: turn on subtitles. You will notice that when Bond says "Tell me Jill, why does he do it?", the subtitles read "Tell me Joan, why does he do it?". (00:57:05)

Continuity mistake: In the scene where Frank's parents have been informed of their son's impersonation of a French teacher, Frank is seen through the window of the office. At this point, when he flashes a cheesy grin, his hair is a mess - presumably to remind us that he is still only a young, cheeky schoolboy. However, upon his parents leaving the office, Frank's hair is perfectly styled again in a neat side parting. (00:21:30)

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Suggested correction: The meeting stretched on for at least five minutes, giving Frank ample time to straighten himself up. Running a comb through his hair – or even just smoothing it with his fingers – would have taken mere seconds.

jshy7979

Continuity mistake: In the scene where Frank is pretending to be a Doctor at the bedside of the kid who has just had a bicycle accident a nurse hands him a swab. While he talking to the other Doctors the swab is visible but when the shot changes his arms are suddenly folded and we can no longer see it.

tw_stuart

Continuity mistake: When Frank meets with his wife-to-be's mother and father, it's night time. When Frank and the father are talking after dinner, it is light out, but the characters are in the same outfits. (01:22:30 - 01:31:25)

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Suggested correction: When Frank meets with his wife-to-be's mother and father, it's obviously day time.

Factual error: When we see Leo's yearbook photo close-up, the image isn't half-toned as it would have been at the time. Instead, it's printed using error diffusion dithering, a computer technique not available at the time. (01:00:25)

Continuity mistake: When Frank Jr. and Sr. are going to the Chase Manhattan Bank, the same white truck drives behind them twice.

Dr Wilson

Other mistake: One of the end credits is "saxaphone solo." It should be "saxophone."

Continuity mistake: In the scene after Frank gets his uniform, when he is walking on the sidewalk the overhead shot shows a wet sidewalk, but in the next shot you can see behind Frank that the sidewalk is now dry.

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: In the lunch scene in the fancy restaurant with Frank Sr. and Frank Jr., the crystal goblets are of a pattern that wasn't available in the 1960's. The pattern is Mikasa Parklane, which I believe became available in the late 1980's.

Continuity mistake: During the wedding, when Frank says to Brenda that they have to go, the amount of checks changes during the scene. (01:39:40)

Dr Wilson

Continuity mistake: When Frank's parents are meeting with his principal after he pretends to be a teacher his mother is smoking a cigarette and is exhaling smoke, but when she looks at Frank there is no smoke at all in the air. (00:21:30)

Revealing mistake: In the Atlanta party scene, we are supposed to believe it starts with a single long take. However there is a sneaky edit when Frank crosses the threshold of the room. He emerges at a slighty quicker pace and his hair is suddenly messed up. (01:10:35)

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Suggested correction: There is nothing obvious in this scene that supports this. When he emerges on the other side, he bumps into his friend so suddenly that you can't tell if he was walking at a different pace. The reason his hair is messed up is because he bumps into his friend. He then yells at his friend, jerking his head around as he does so, which messes up his hair even further, which can be seen.

jshy7979

Even if it were true, it wouldn't qualify as a mistake. The shot may be intended to appear as a single shot, but that doesn't mean it's a mistake if it isn't.

More quotes from Catch Me If You Can

Trivia: The real Frank Abagnale Jr. was held in the French prison (Perpignan's House of Arrest) for approximately six months. His term was shortened from twelve months. When released (extradited to Sweden), he was ill because he had been forced to live in a damp, dark cell, naked and allowed only bread and water. In Sweden where he was tried and convicted he was kept in a comfortable Swedish prison. However, upon completion of his prison term in Sweden, he was next to be extradited to Italy. The Swedish government believed in prison reform and was afraid of the treatment he would receive in an Italian prison. As a result, Sweden revoked Frank's passport so it could intentionally have him extradited to the U.S. Once in the US, he was protected and couldn't be tried in the foreign countries where he perpetrated his fraudulent schemes. The book about his life contains a more accurate depiction than the film and was written 10 years prior to its release.

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Suggested correction: Incorrect. Abagnale served three months in a French prison, not six. He then served two months in a Swedish prison. He was ordered to recompense Swedish victims of his crimes but never did. The book about his life was published over 20 years before the film was released, not 10. The book and movie are both almost completely inaccurate; most of Abagnale's stories of his crimes and frauds were greatly exaggerated or completely made up. Journalists started discovering these lies in the late 1970s.

More trivia for Catch Me If You Can

Question: After Frank is essentially forced to abandon Brenda in order to avoid not getting caught at the airport he resumes his farce as a pilot and recruits young women as his accompanying stewardesses. Roughly how long does this thing with the stewardesses possibly last? Did he really risk to include them in his "trip" around the world to various countries to continue his fraud because obviously he abandoned them at some point and ended up in France where he was caught.

Answer: It lasts several months. The stewardesses were juniors and seniors from the University of Arizona, whom he fake-recruited for a PR project for Pan-Am (they were not supposed to be real stewardesses, but dress like them and be photographed in various European capitols). Frank was frequently being asked where his "crew" was, so he thought it would lend him credibility.

This is inaccurate. When he leaves Brenda, he calls the university immediately and says that he will be stopping by the next morning, and we see that they return to Miami International Airport. So, it was definitely not the University of Arizona. And I don't recall anyone asking Frank where his crew was; the question he got was what kind of equipment he was on. As far as the ladies are concerned, he likely left them right there in Miami. Much easier to keep a low profile on his own.

jshy7979

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