Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Revealing mistake: Near the end of the film, when Neal is on the final L train home, we see the train pull away from the station. When Neal returns to the station to find Del, the footage of the train leaving is played backwards - you can briefly see a man walking backwards at the top left of the screen.

Revealing mistake: When the couple is yelling to Del "you're going to kill someone" because he's driving on the wrong side of the interstate, you can see that their car's transmission is in PARK. (00:59:35 - 01:01:05)

Revealing mistake: During the scene where Neal is trying to board his flight from New York to Chicago, the camera pans out to show a shot of the whole airport. But, you can see that the shot was taken in O'Hare airport, in Chicago, but he's supposed to be in New York at that point in the film.

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: Yes, that external shot is not supposed to be in New York where they are, but Chicago which is full of snow and which is where they want to get, but can't get. So, I don't see the error there.

Revealing mistake: When Steve Martin first calls home to tell his wife that the flight is delayed we see a lovely, cozy picture of the Page family enjoying a delicious, home cooked meal. However, in the shot where the kids are all sitting at the table the youngest child (back to camera) is being carefully 'watched' by a woman who is sitting on the floor next to his chair. I presume it is the actor's mother making sure that her little baby doesn't fall off the chair...

Revealing mistake: When they are sitting in the bus station in Jefferson City - and then the next scene is the somewhat "speeded up" shot of the kid running up and down the aisles of the bus (before the "take a picture, it'll last longer" scene) - as the kid is running up and down the aisle, watch the woman in the front left seat. The handheld windmill that the kid is running with hits her in the head and her eyes "pop open" as to be surprised by the hit.

ckbyers

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".

More trivia for Planes, Trains & Automobiles

Question: Del was able to get a rental due to having Neil's card. Then, how was Neil able to get a rental card that eventually got him left in the parking lot if he didn't have a card?

Answer: He had multiple cards. He shows the burnt remains when he tries to rent a room.

Brian Katcher

More questions & answers from Planes, Trains & Automobiles

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.