Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Continuity mistake: When Neil is chasing the cab after Del stole it, the bags he is carrying change hands in different shots.

Continuity mistake: When Neal is racing Kevin Bacon for the taxi, he gets close to the cab and all lanes of traffic are at a standstill. Seconds later when he trips over the trunk, the lane he falls into is empty and a car has to brake hard to avoid hitting him, indicating it was travelling at speed already.

Continuity mistake: After leaving the El Rancho hotel. (when pulled over by the state police) Neil seams to find some new clothes, including a too small hunting hat, and scarf. On the walk home, Neil is carrying a large suit case, instead of his garment bag and brief case.

Continuity mistake: When Neal and Del are waiting for Owen in the Braidwood parking lot, a couple of the cars change type and position between the overhead shot when Neal says "Just get me to the train station" and when we see Owen's truck pulling up. There was not enough time between shots for any cars to have moved.

Continuity mistake: When Neal is walking to the space where his rental car is supposed to be, he looks down as he walks past stalls V-2 and V-3, yet after V-3 he passes two more cars before arriving at stall V-5.

Continuity mistake: When Neal is scanning the parking spaces in the rental car lot, the shot switches to Neal's POV and back. When the camera is on Neal, he walks completely past the Mercury Sable in stall V-2, yet when it switches to his POV he's only just beginning to pass the same spot. As he approaches V-3 in the POV shot, the camera switches again and he's now well past it.

Continuity mistake: When John Candy is singing "The Mess Around" in the car, the car swerves, and a hubcap from the passenger side rolls off. The hubcap is back on in the next scene. (00:57:20 - 00:58:50)

More mistakes in Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Del: You could kill a man like that, hitting him in the stomach. That's how Houdini died you know.

More quotes from Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Trivia: In the scene after the plane lands in Wichita, Kansas, when the announcer comes over the loudspeaker look at the destination on the flight info display. It says "nowhere".

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Question: This question is about the scene where John Candy is the driver, and Steve Martin is the passenger in the rented car. Steve is unaware at one point, that they are going the wrong way on the highway. He becomes aware, after looking out the window and down onto the shoulder of the road with the wet snow splashing up. As soon as he looks at that, he knows they are going the wrong way. What was it about the road that made him realize it?

Answer: The reason was that the snowbank was on his side (the passenger side) when it should have been on the driver's side if they were driving in the right direction. Also and I'm not sure if you could see this in the film but the deflecters on the road which separate the lanes if you are going in the right direction shine yellow and if you are going the wrong way shine red.

Tobin OReilly

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