Deliberate mistake: When White almost fights with Exley in the street and is pulled away, the public mailbox by the side of the road is all blue. Mailboxes back then were red on top and blue on the bottom.
La Confidential (1997)
1 deliberate mistake
Directed by: Curtis Hanson
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kim Basinger, James Cromwell
Factual error: In the scene where Lt. Exley arrives at the Night Owl after the murder, the patrol officer is wearing a Safariland velcro-fastened handcuff case on his left hip. That style of rounded cuff case was not introduced until the early to mid 70s.
Bud White: Merry Christmas.
Lynn Bracken: Merry Christmas to you, officer.
Bud White: That obvious, huh?
Lynn Bracken: It's practically stamped on your forehead.
Trivia: Kim Basinger won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Lynn Bracken, even though she's only in the film for 15 minutes.
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Chosen answer: A 12g shotgun blast at that range would cause an incredibly bloody death, especially as there is a good chance it hit the man in the face. Exley has killed a person in the line of duty before this, but not in such a spectacular way. And while he may not have meant to kill him he chose to shoot over letting the man escape.
Grumpy Scot