Continuity mistake: To show time has passed, the wooden fence on the beach deteriorates, but the top of the fence, with Anna Muir carved in it, was never anywhere near the water - it was way up inland, far away from the water's edge - but now it is in the water, waves washing over it.
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)
Directed by: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Starring: George Sanders, Gene Tierney, Rex Harrison, Edna Best
Continuity mistake: When Lucy is looking over Gull Cottage, for the first time, she opens the left window next to the telescope, but once outside, it's the right window that is left open.
Character mistake: After a year in Gull Cottage, Lucy and Martha walk up the stairs together. Lucy says she had a dream a year ago and Martha says she remembers her telling her about it, but because it was about the ghost, she didn't tell her a word. So Martha didn't hear a word.
Lucy Muir: I wish you wouldn't swear. It's so ugly.
Captain Gregg: If you think that's ugly, it's a good thing you can't read me thoughts.
Lucy Muir: It's no crime to be alive.
Captain Gregg: No, my dear, sometimes it's a great inconvenience. The living can be hurt.
Lucy Muir: This is he 20th century. We must rid ourselves of the old fetishes and taboos.
Question: On the beach, Mr Scroggins carves Anna's name - Anna Muir - on the end of the wrong end of a wooden "fence" (it faces inland; so how on earth could captains at sea see her name as they pass by?) and what is the purpose of the wooden "fence"?
Answer: Whether or not the carving was placed inland as a convenience for the audience to see it, it is still a mistake with regard to the dialogue indicating that persons at sea being able to read Anna's name on the post. To avoid the mistake, the scene should begun showing Mr. Scroggins on the seaward side of the post carving and the for the camera to pan around to show that he is carving the name "Anna Muir." The sea could still be in the background and the dialogue would then make sense.
Question: Did they have signs for smoking cars on the train windows in that era?
Answer: Yes they did. In 1868 the Railway Regulation Bill was passed in the UK which forced railway companies to designate certain cars as smoking cars. This bill was passed in response to companies banning smoking altogether on their trains.
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.
Chosen answer: The scene takes place at a public beach where Anna and her mother go swimming and the fence may be connected to that. Anna is a small child and Mr. Scroggins carves her name where she can always easily see it, and it is far away from the water's edge. Of course, for the purpose of the movie, it was placed in such a way to be seen by the audience as a way to gauge the amount of time that is passing. It becomes worn and deteriorated over the years.
raywest ★