Big Game

29th Jan 2025

Terror by Night (1946)

Question: Holmes says he realised that Inspector McDonald was an impostor because he supposedly knows the 'real' Inspector McDonald of the Edinburgh police. As shown in the other movies and Conan Doyle's original stories, there are several Inspectors working for Scotland Yard in London (another British city), which begs the question: does this resolution Holmes mentioned about two British Inspectors having the same surname make sense and, if so, why?

Big Game

Answer: If you're comparing the film to Arthur Conan Doyle's original Sherlock Holmes stories, then any discrepancies do not really apply. The Basil Rathbone films were mostly loose adaptations of Doyle's work, often incorporating plot elements from multiple stories or original screenplays with new characters. "Terror by Night" was an entirely original story. The films also set Holmes in the late 1930s through the 1940s during World War II, and he was often fighting enemy spies and Nazis. The original Sherlock Holmes was set in the late 19th century.

raywest

Actually, my question is related to the movies themselves and it's not a comparison. There are still several inspectors working for Scotland Yard in the Basil Rathbone saga too (I've made an entry edition to include this).

Big Game

Thanks for clarifying. Much of my previous answer still applies. The Rathbone movies were not meant to be a definitive interpretation of Sherlock Holmes. The 12 films by Universal Studios were low-budget and cranked out in quick succession for a quick profit and "to simply be entertaining B pictures." Little regard was given to historical accuracy or plot continuity from film to film and they probably were developed simultaneously by different people. The 12 films had multiple directors and screenwriters focused on their individual projects.

raywest

Actually, almost all the movies were directed by Roy William Neill (11 of 14).

Big Game

Continuity mistake: Just before the Battle of Naboo begins, Jar Jar and Tarpals are at the front of the Great Gungan Army. In one shot, Jar Jar turns and says, "Steady, steady," to the Gungans. During this shot, Captain Tarpals disappears.

Big Game

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

Suggested correction: He doesn't disappear; he is just offscreen. The close-up shot of Jar-Jar is taken at a more head-on angle.

Judging by the almost zero distance between the two characters, I'd say it's practically impossible that no part of Tarpals' body could have been seen. Jar Jar's hand would have even touched Tarpals if he were still there.

Big Game

Nonsense. We can't see the feet of their mounts, and apparent distance depends on the focal length of the lens, so there is no way of telling how far apart they are. Definitely more than "zero distance." In the second shot, there doesn't appear to be much more than 4 feet visible to his immediate left (our right). Certainly, a reasonable distance based on the first shot.

14th Dec 2015

Home Alone (1990)

Corrected entry: When Kevin is hiding in the nativity set, you can see him on the right, just covered in the green robe. When it changes to the close up shot, he's now holding a shepherd's staff, which would have been visible in the previous shot.

Bishop73

Correction: There is a staff but it's hard to see. If you squint a little, you will see it.

Kitty1019

I too can see the staff in the first shot of the manger. It is dim, but it absolutely is there.

stv2999

I can see the staff in both shots too.

Big Game

Corrected entry: During the AT-AT attack scene, Luke says "Rogue 3, Wedge, I've lost my gunner". Then seconds later when he flies through the walker's legs, he calls him Rogue 2.

Correction: Luke is talking to two seperate people, Rogue 3, and Wedge, who is Rogue 2.

This is incorrect. Wedge is Rogue 3, not Rogue 2.

Big Game

Luke is Rogue One or Rogue Leader, Wedge is Rogue Two.

Kevin l Habershaw

No, Zev Senesca is Rogue Two (the pilot who finds Luke and Han). Wedge is Rogue Three.

Big Game

You are correct. I thought Wedge was Rogue 2 because he later becomes Rogue Leader / Rogue 1.

Kevin l Habershaw

Other mistake: After getting on aboard the dirigible, Henry is holding a German newspaper when addressing Indy. But he'd have a hard time reading it as it's upside down. Even if he's just trying to hide, holding an upside-down newspaper would draw the attention of suspicious guards.

Movie Nut

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

Suggested correction: Henry Jones Sr. doesn't have his glasses in this scene. He can't really see anything on the newspaper, that's why he is holding it upside down.

Big Game

I'd say that, more than anything, a hasty attempt to blend in would be more likely the culprit. Even without the spectacles, Henry, being the fastidious person he is, would have righted the paper, with or without eyewear.

Movie Nut

But since he couldn't see the letters, how would he have righted the newspaper (or even noticed it was upside down)?

Big Game

Ipon! (Japanese for "point.") I can see your point; however, I would ask that the following be considered: that there is usually more than just letters and words in newsprint. Even if not viewed, pictures are good indicators of the newspaper's orientation.

Movie Nut

Corrected entry: When Indiana breaks in through the window, he lets go of his whip, yet he has it through the rest of the film despite us never seeing him retrieve it.

Life700

Correction: Just because we don't see it onscreen doesn't mean it didn''t happen. He could have retrieved it anytime after killing the guards.

Guy

Well... don't they immediately leave the room, before their escape is foiled?

Spiny Norman

The moment when Indy picks up his whip, it's actually shown. While Henry Jones is studying the broken jar, Indy is coiling the whip in the background.

Big Game

Continuity mistake: In the library before he goes through the hole in the floor, Indiana takes the map out of the diary and gives the diary to Marcus. When Indiana gets caught trying to rescue his dad, they take the diary from him and say Marcus has the map.

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

Suggested correction: You've forgotten the scene at Donovan's apartment. There, Indy could have cut the page and give it to Brody off-screen.

Big Game

Also, Indy does not remove the map but the drawing of the stone tablet. The map is a page of the diary, as Donovan mentions later that some pages have been cut.

Big Game

Visible crew/equipment: Indy is at the nuclear test site and exits the house and comes out front. He knocks over the boy on the bike and air raid siren goes off. Just as he stands upright, in the window with curtains, you can see a reflection of a crew member walking by.

TD9898

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

Suggested correction: I'm watching the Disney+ copy frame by frame, and there's no reflection anywhere.

Sacha

Actually, the mistake is correct. The crew member's reflection is at 00:19:32, reflected on the right curtain over Indy's right shoulder, next to the fake boy inside the house.

Big Game

Factual error: Although Dieter Hellstrom is a Gestapo Major, he has the SS runes on his uniform instead of a blank square.

Big Game

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

Suggested correction: Nowhere in the movie is he said to be a Gestapo Major. He is SS. Even if he was part of the Gestapo, he could still be an SS officer, as the Gestapo fell under the SS and RSHA.

lionhead

Actually, Hellstrom himself says, "I didn't introduce myself. Major Dieter Hellstrom of the Gestapo," after Shoshanna meets Joseph Goebbels in the bar.

Big Game

Oh right, he was in another scene too. Sure, well, like I said, he can still be an SS officer.

lionhead

Other mistake: The Angel of Death attacks the altar and Toht and Dietrich scream because of its revelation, but Belloq, for some reason, doesn't seem to see it. Just before the fire column rises, he's still calm. (01:47:10)

Big Game

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

Suggested correction: If you don't know the reason, perhaps you should ask a question instead of assuming it is a mistake. Belloq studied the ark and probably better predicted what might come out of the ark. He is also looking directly into the ark and is mesmerized by what he is seeing, until eventually he does scream before his head explodes. The other two are terrified at seeing the apparitions.

lionhead

Actually, it's pretty impossible that Belloq studied the Ark. If he knew what would come out of it, he literally committed suicide by opening and watching the Ark open, which doesn't make sense. He believed during the whole movie that the Ark contained the Ten Commandments tablets, not some kind of ghastly things.

Big Game

He didn't know what would come out, but it doesn't mean that he, like Indy, expected just 2 stone tablets. He expected power, for him mostly.

lionhead

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