Appointment With Death

Continuity mistake: Freshly arrived to the hotel in Jerusalem, Dr. King looks down from the balcony and spots Raymond eating something at the table with his family. In the next shot, he's not munching anymore, and he's already smiling at her. (00:28:05)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: Sightseeing in Jerusalem, Nadine is reconciling with her husband and tells him to smile. Behind her, Dr. King reads a book and turns right to left. Three women walk in frame from the left. The camera cuts away, and next time we see Nadine there's a blatant repetition of the same movements; again King's half-turn and the two extras that walk into frame same as before. (00:30:15)

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Continuity mistake: Carol sits down with Dr. King and begins explaining what was her mother did for a living before her marriage. King listens to her with her hands on her knees, which turn into clasped hands at the cut. She then listens leaning her chin against her fist, and under certain camera angles the hand stays there even when she changes position. (00:31:50)

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Continuity mistake: In Qumran, Poirot inquires about the disappearance of Cope. When Healey tells him "And there's more bad news", the extras in the background have changed. (00:36:00)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: Raymond timidly approaches Dr. King at the buffet of the Qumran campsite. A local with a big turban walks behind them right to left to grab something behind the watermelon. Cut to a different angle for a couple seconds, and when we're back to the first, the same extra repeats the exact same movement. (00:38:45)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: Poirot waves goodbye from Carbury's car as they leave for a tour of Acre. Sarah King waves back. Behind her in the background David Soul is at his own table, sitting staring ahead. Cut to Emily suggesting everyone to go for a walk; Soul is standing, wearing his hat already and facing the other direction. And it's a shot supposedly in continuity, because the same extra is walking outside the tent in both. (00:40:00)

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Continuity mistake: The Boynton kids are crowding the mother preparing her according to her instructions. Ginny reluctantly goes to bed, Nadine brings her the medicine, and Raymond walks around her to get to the other side; the shadows in these two shots are different, as shown by the tent's peg, in the shade first, in the sun a second later. (00:40:35)

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Continuity mistake: When Raymond invites Dr. King at the postprandial trek, his hand is right next a large crease on the towel, completely ironed out when the angle changes. (00:41:30)

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Continuity mistake: When Ray tells lady Westholme that his mother would like a word with her, the position of the folders in her hands change. (00:41:40)

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Continuity mistake: After 'behaving like a man' kissing without consent, Raymond says bye to Sarah; he says "There's something I have to say, and do, to prove you that..." The shadow cast on her chest changes as the camera angles change, on and off her necklace. (00:43:10)

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Continuity mistake: Dr. King announces Emily's death. The lawyer supports the archaeologist who is fainting, but does so being in different positions between shots. Even the local who faces away from them is standing in a different position - in fact this particular mistake keeps repeating, with the guy's left arm all the way down the side in some shots and his hand on the waist in the closer angles. (00:45:25)

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Continuity mistake: When Poirot asks Dr. King "You noticed the marks on the wrist, of course?" his hat has changed position in his lap. (00:46:35)

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Continuity mistake: Poirot asks Sarah King if the bottle of digitalis in her bag was empty. In the wide angle his index finger is placed on the neck of the bottle, it's much lower in the close-up. (00:47:30)

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Continuity mistake: Poirot is in colonel Carbury's office to convince him not to rule the death as natural. He tells Carbury that he will tell him who the culprit is. Carbury is holding his glass with both hands, but in the next shot as he asks "Well, how long will it take?" the glass is in his right hand since the left hand is busy supporting him against the chair. (00:48:50)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: In the scene at the market in Jerusalem, when Poirot tells Dr. King "Offer him five", the merchant at the stall is standing in front or behind a trinket with a large rectangular pendant, depends on the camera angle. (00:49:45)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: Dr. King reacts with a big laugh at Poirot's insinuation that Raymond could have decided to kill his mother. In the longshot though you can spot both characters in the crowd, and they are simply walking side by side. In the closer view, Sarah King is facing Poirot. (00:51:35)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: Poirot tells the doctor that if she 'put the clock back two hours' she would have protected Raymond. During the dialogue, the extras in the market on the background don't carry between cuts, or do it wrongly, like the man with a basket that walks next to the car coming from different directions. (00:52:50)

Sammo

Appointment With Death mistake picture

Continuity mistake: Inside Lord Peel's study, Poirot asks Lady Westholme what did she do after lunch, since "You did not immediately go for your walk, I believe." Peter Ustinov poses the question with his hands behind his back, but Lauren Bacall's answer answers with the stand-in for Ustinov posing with his hand on his hip. (00:54:40)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: In Lady Westholme's flashback, she asks Emily if there's anything she and Miss Quinton can do. From the front, the table and the woman's lap are in the shade, but in the reverse shot they are fully sunlit, and back with no sun when she watches them leave. (00:56:00)

Sammo

Continuity mistake: Poirot is with Lady Westholme and Miss Quinton at the Royal Commission. A man from the staff opens the door, and Miss Quinton turns all the way to look. He announces a phone call, and the reaction shot on the ladies begins with the woman turning around again. (00:56:25)

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Factual error: Poirot meets the rest of the cast at the port of Trieste before they sail off for Jaffa. In actuality though, they already were in Jaffa, which served double duty acting as a very poor stand-in for Trieste; the architecture of the port and promenade is nothing like Trieste's, and you can see in the establishing shot Jaffa's St. Peter's church. (00:08:30)

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More mistakes in Appointment With Death

Hercule Poirot: People like to talk, and in doing so they tell the truth. It puts less of a strain on the memory.

More quotes from Appointment With Death

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