Plot hole: Smiley is at a hotel asking Sam what happened when he was duty officer on the night Jim Prideaux was shot. What Sam recalls (among other things) is he and Bill Haydon going through Jim's things. Haydon finds a photo of himself and Prideaux and sneaks it away in his pocket unseen by Sam. How could Sam explain that to Smiley when he did not see Haydon's move?
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
1 plot hole
Directed by: Tomas Alfredson
Starring: Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hardy, Mark Strong
Genres: Thriller
Factual error: George Smiley stays in a hotel near Liverpool St Station, London to investigate the spy at the heart of the circus. There is one scene where we see, from above, a train leaving the station. Liverpool St station is electrified using overhead wires - the train is leaving a station using a different electrification system called 3rd rail which has never existed at Liverpool St.
George Smiley: We are not so very different, you and I. We've both spent our lives looking for the weaknesses in one each other's systems.
More trivia for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Question: Why were the British singing the Russian national anthem during the Christmas party scene?
Answer: As this story was set during the Cold War era, this was a deliberate mockery of the Soviet Union and its policies against holiday celebration and religious freedom. The entire story revolves around the prospect of a Russian Mole among the British Secret Service and Intelligence Community-at that moment, complete with a mocking Stalin Santa Claus, they were letting off steam against their reviled rivals.
Erik M.