Continuity mistake: In the scene near the end when everyone piles into the two cabs, Mr. Pike is refused entry a few times, but finally squeezes in on the left side. When the camera cuts to inside the cab, he is second from the right. There is no way he could have slid past Sylvester and the English guy.
Revealing mistake: At the end, the bodies falling off of the fire engine ladder are obviously dummies.
Continuity mistake: During the scenes where Jonathan Winters is destroying the garage, he starts off the fight with his hat on. Later his hat is off. Then magically it is back on.
Revealing mistake: The blue Willys (Jeep) station wagon used for the blue-screen shots was a two wheel drive version. During the argument shortly before the crash, the Englishman driver abruptly shifts gears, revealing the three-on-the-tree shifter on the steering column, used only on 2WD versions. The on-location filming used the 4WD version, with the logos visible on the tailgate and side of the hood. Also, the distinct 4WD front axle can be seen in many shots.
Revealing mistake: Whenever a back projected shot is used the cars are supposedly driving at top speeds yet no-ones hair, hat, scarf etc ruffles in the wind. In fact there's no evidence of movement whatsoever. This is particularly noticeable in the scene where they are all crammed in the truck and one guy is leaning over the side shouting at drivers.
Continuity mistake: Watch very carefully when Mickey Rooney and Buddy Hacket are on the out-of control plane - there's a scene when we can see Mick wearing headphones (camera shot from behind), and a few seconds later we see them in a front camera shot with no headphones.
Character mistake: When Spencer Tracy is talking to his wife and daughter on two separate telephones, he places the phones up against each other so mom and daughter can talk to each other. One phone should be upside down so it would be speaker to transmitter rather than speaker to speaker.
Revealing mistake: At the end when Culpepper slides down the cable on the palm tree branch, you can see the actual rigging inside the palm tree branch that is used to slide down the cable.
Revealing mistake: Watch the firetruck ladder as it sways. During the long shots showing the entire ladder, it is swaying from ground level. During close-ups, the apparent pivot point is just off the bottom of the screen, indicating a much shorter ladder was in use.
Continuity mistake: In the scene where the Imperial gets hit from behind, Ethel Merman fails to get her legs straight up in the air on the initial impact and as a result sticks them up after she's already knocked over.
Continuity mistake: The two taxis collide and get dented when turning around at the Captain's house. During the subsequent chase, the damage has disappeared.
Continuity mistake: All the inside shots of both cabbies driving show the interior color is tan and brown, but in the scene where Pike is hanging out of the cab as it's driving away one cab's interior is two tone green. When they open the doors at the crash scene with the chief's car at the end you can see the other car has a silver and black interior.
Continuity mistake: During the opening scene, Smiler passes Milton Berle, loses control of his car, crashes through the barrier and up the ramp. However, when Berle et. al. stop at the spot where Smiler supposedly left the road, the two spots don't match. The broken guardrail where Berle is standing is not the same spot where Smiler broke through. The second spot is roughly 100 ft. up the road from where the car went "sailing right out there".
Revealing mistake: At the end when the police officer crashes through the window of the pet store and all the dogs are licking him, it is extremely obvious that it is short piece of footage being rewound and played over and over again to extend the length of the shot.
Continuity mistake: When the case is found and opened for the first time, the bills are in bands. However, when the case opens on the fire escape, the bills flyout individually.
Continuity mistake: The two 1959 Plymouth taxis keep changing from scene to scene; in some you can see cab numbers painted on the hood and trunk, and in other scenes they aren't there, also dents on the cars show up and later they are gone.
Continuity mistake: In the opening scene, Smiler passes first the truck and then the Volkswagen but then passes 3 other vehicles before he passes the Imperial. Two of the 3 cars are never seen again. The 3rd is a light cream Chrysler station which is supposed to be the '62 blue Plymouth wagon of Sid Caesar.
Revealing mistake: At the beginning of the movie when the car goes through the guardrails and is falling down the mountain side, at first the car is seen coming down sideways, driver side facing down. Then it mysteriously changed to be right side up in the next shot when it crashes.
Revealing mistake: During the whole movie any time someone is driving, the driver turns either way too much or not enough for the turn they are on. Even when they are driving straight, they turn the wheel as if they are going back and forth on the road in both lanes.
Plot hole: In the beginning of the movie, all of the cars turn to the left to head south. However, the map at the police station indicates that they had to turn to the right to go south.
