Question: Was the one-armed man a real person?
Big Game
6th Mar 2025
Schindler's List (1993)
Answer: According to an internet source, the one-armed man, Itzhak Stern, was real. Stern was a Polish Jew who worked for Oskar Schindler as an accountant and assisted in his rescue activities during the Holocaust. After the war, Stern moved to Israel.
Stern and the one-armed man are not the same person. The one-armed man, hired by Stern himself, dies during the movie, and Stern, as you wrote, survives.
9th Feb 2025
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Continuity mistake: In the Well of Souls, Indy and Sallah place the Ark in the box. Indy closes the box with a wooden lid and looks up. In the next shot, a torch has appeared in Indy's hand, a rope has appeared, tied to the four sides of the box, and Sallah has appeared next to Indy's left shoulder. In addition, the box is already several metres above Indy and Sallah in the second shot. (01:09:43)
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Suggested correction: There is an obvious time jump between the shots. They simply decided not to spend ten minutes showing all the details of sealing the box and tying the rope around it.
I wouldn't say this was a deliberate time jump, as they show Indy carefully and slowly placing the Ark in the box, then sealing it. In addition, when he looks up, he immediately says, "All right... take it up! Easy!" so it's clear this is a continuity mistake.
He says, "All right. Take it up" after the cut. Yes, he does look up before the cut, but since everything else is different, we are supposed to interpret it as a jump in time.
In fact, almost nothing changes between these two scenes, except for these small but clear details.
There's a deliberate jump in time between these two shots, and this transition is done creatively. First, we're below with Indiana as he places the lid on the crate and looks up toward the top entrance; it then cuts to the entrance POV, and now we're looking down as the tied-up crate is being lifted. The jump in time between these two shots is transitioned using a type of match cut. Absolutely no mistakes regarding these two consecutive shots.
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?
Answer: If you're comparing the film to Arthur Conan Doyle's original Sherlock Holmes stories, then any discrepancy does not really apply. The Basil Rathbone films were loose adaptions of Doyle's work, often incorporating plot elements from multiple stories or were original screenplays with new characters. There was little regard to details or plot consistencies. "Terror by Night" was an entirely original story. The original Sherlock Holmes stories were set in the late Victorian era while the 12 Universal Studio films mostly took place during World War II, with Holmes often fighting Nazis and enemy spies. The first two Sherlock Holmes films by 20th Cent. Fox studio were generally faithful to the original stories.
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).
Thanks for clarifying, though you stated, "as shown in the other movies 'and' Doyle's original stories." Much of my previous answer still applies. The Basil Rathbone movies were not a definitive interpretation of Sherlock Holmes. The first two by 20th Century Fox were mostly faithful to the original stories. The 12 later Universal Studios films were lower-budget, cranked out in rapid succession for profit, and shifted the time period to the mid-20th century for cheaper production costs. The studio's mandate was the films were, "to simply be entertaining B pictures." There was little regard for historical accuracy or plot continuity from film to film. Scripts were simultaneously developed by different writing teams. The 12 films had multiple directors and screenwriters who were focused on their individual projects.
Actually, almost all the movies were directed by Roy William Neill (11 of 14).
That's true, but many different screenwriters were simultaneously working on the various movies. It's also typical in Hollywood for uncredited "script doctors" to revise scripts, further adding to small inconsistencies. Universal Studios had a seven-year contract with the Doyle estate to make the Sherlock Holmes films. They produced them quickly, releasing three movies per year. Under the contract, Universal was allowed to make plot revisions, create some original stories, and modernise the setting (making it more topical and cheaper to produce).
17th Jan 2025
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
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.
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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.
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.
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.
16th Sep 2021
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989)
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.
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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.
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.
But since he couldn't see the letters, how would he have righted the newspaper (or even noticed it was upside down)?
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.
31st Mar 2008
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989)
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.
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.
Well... don't they immediately leave the room, before their escape is foiled?
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.
18th Jul 2024
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (1989)
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.
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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.
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.
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23rd Jun 2024
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Factual error: Although Dieter Hellstrom is a Gestapo Major, he has the SS runes on his uniform instead of a blank square.
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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.
9th Jun 2024
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
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)
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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.
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.
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.
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Answer: No, the one-armed man is listed as "Mr. Löwenstein" and played by Polish actor Henryk Bista. He is a fictional character.
lionhead