Character mistake: Stoddard in class says the founding document of the country can be added to with amendments. Pompey says it is the constitution written by Thomas Jefferson. Stoddard says 'declaration of independence'. Pompey was right, Stoddard incorrectly corrected him. It IS the constitution. The declaration can't be added to with amendments.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
1 character mistake - chronological order
Directed by: John Ford
Starring: John Wayne, James Stewart, Lee Marvin, Vera Miles
Audio problem: When John Wayne has his back turned and tells the newspaper man "print that and he will kill you sure as hell", you can tell by the side of John Wayne's face that he isn't really saying anything.
Ransom Stoddard: I don't want to kill him, I just want to put him in jail.
Tom Doniphon: Ohhh.
Trivia: Liberty Valance's last poker hand is, appropriately, aces and eights. (01:30:10)
Question: When Ranse confronts Liberty and reaches for the dropped gun, there appears to be something written at Ranse's feet in the dirt. What is it?
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Answer: At first glance, it looks like the word "LEFT" in large, widely-spaced lettering. It's very unlikely that this would be a blocking cue, telling Jimmy Stewart to move left (which he does from that point). That's not the way blocking cues are done, for one thing, and a seasoned actor such as Jimmy Stewart wouldn't need such a cue. It's also very unlikely that it's a warning message from John Wayne who is hiding in an alley across the street, on Stewart's right. John Wayne didn't want anyone to know that he actually killed Valance, so he wouldn't alert Jimmy Stewart with any messages scrawled in the street. All hypothesis aside, it's probably just footprints in the dirt, an illusion of light and shadow.