First Stop - S4-E14
Deliberate mistake: When they are counting the yards to Aunt Sally's pecan pralines, they count down 300 yards, 200 yards, 100 yards so fast they would have to have been speeding pretty fast to go hundreds of yards within seconds.
First Stop - S4-E14
Visible crew/equipment: The gang stop at the roadside diner was obviously shot in-studio as the bottom seam is quite visible behind the car, and the backdrop shakes a little when Lucy opens the car door.
First Stop - S4-E14
Other mistake: When the Ricardos and Mertzes arrive the first time at One Oak Cabins and Cafe the full moon is amid the tops of the trees. When they arrive the second time the full moon is in exactly the same location amid the tree tops as the first time they arrived. Fortunately, hours later when they make their sneaky escape from the cabin and return to their car the moon is no longer in view.
Visible crew/equipment: At the start, when Lucy pulls into the "gas station" the thin cable pulling the Pontiac is visible in front of the car, and when Ethel walks in front of the car note that the actress quickly glances down and steps over it, just as she says they're lost. Additionally, the glass windshield and rearview mirror are gone.
Continuity mistake: When Ethel asks her old friend Billy to take a group photo of her with Fred and the Ricardos, Ethel poses with everyone as Billy takes only one shot of them together, but when Lucy reads the newspaper article Ethel is posed differently in the cropped "group" picture. (00:12:15 - 00:16:35)
Continuity mistake: Ethel's full name in this episode is Ethel Mae Potter; however in a earlier episode, Fred calls her Ethel Louise, and in another episode she is called Ethel Roberta.
Revealing mistake: At the Brown Derby, when Lucy bumps into the waiter causing him to trip and spill the tray all over William Holden, we can see that the waiter's hand is taped to the bottom of the tray for the stunt to be done efficiently. (00:15:15)
Continuity mistake: At the start, when the Pontiac convertible turns into the driveway of what should be the Beverly Palms Hotel, the sign with the real name of the hotel can be seen, which reads Beverly Carlton Hotel.
Don Juan and the Starlets - S4-E18
Continuity mistake: After the maid sees Lucy sleeping on the couch and leaves, in the next shot the clock reads 10:00 and Lucy wakes up, but when Lucy checks the bedroom and walks back into the living room, the clock now reads 6:40. (00:16:25)
Don Juan and the Starlets - S4-E18
Visible crew/equipment: After Fred fibs to Lucy about Ricky spending the night, when Fred walks over to the door just as Ethel walks in, we can see the shadow of the boom mic moving at the top, right corner of the screen. (00:18:30)
Hollywood Anniversary - S4-E24
Visible crew/equipment: After Lucy rushes out with the newspaper to tell Ethel about all the movie stars coming to the party, when Lucy returns to the suite and closes the door, we can see the arm of a crew member and a board with "DPI" (Desilu Productions Inc) on it, at the bottom right side of the screen, and a bit of equipment at the top right corner. (00:15:00)
Hollywood Anniversary - S4-E24
Continuity mistake: In season 2, "The Anniversary Present," Lucy has the 19th circled on the wall calendar, which is the date of their wedding anniversary, but in this episode when the license bureau in Greenwich, Connecticut sends Ricky a telegram with their wedding date, it's now on the 7th.
Continuity mistake: When Lucy's locked out on the penthouse balcony, Ethel places the broom handle through the small round finger hole of the scissors, with the large oval finger hole to the right of the round hole and the blades pointing out, then holds the scissors in place as she puts the broom over the balcony rail. When Lucy retrieves them from the broom, the scissors have flipped over. The blades are pointing out and the broom handle is still through the small round finger hole, but now the large oval hole is to the left of the round hole. (Impossible to do on its own. Try it). (00:19:05)
Character mistake: When Lucy and Harpo are doing the mirror routine, Harpo grabs the horn on his belt with his right hand. For Lucy to create a "reflection", she would need to use her left hand but she uses her right hand.
Revealing mistake: At the end of Lucy and Van Johnson's dance, Ricky and everyone else clap as Lucy walks through the curtain to head "backstage', and in the next shot just as Lucy walks through the curtain we catch a glimpse of Desi Arnaz standing there waiting for his cue. Then in a few moments Ricky, Ethel, Fred, and Caroline all rush in excitedly to congratulate Lucy. (00:24:55)
Other mistake: Lucy walks out on the balcony and sees Van Johnson sleeping on a lounge chair by the swimming pool. The photographic backdrop shows automobiles, trees, mountains, the Roosevelt hotel and many other buildings of Hollywood but when Lucy goes to the pool and sits on the lounge chair next to Van Johnson, the background is just a plain painted backdrop with no cars, trees, mountains or buildings. This plain backdrop also appears in the episode with Harpo Marx.
Deliberate mistake: After Fred and Ethel arrive at Richard Widmark's house dressed as mental hospital staff, when Lucy hugs Ricky and holds out the grapefruit for Widmark to sign, the last closeup of the adorable St. Bernard is a flipped shot - note the chair in the hallway which should be to the left of the table, but is now to the right of the table. (00:25:05)
Answer: There is no reason. It's a just a silly plot device, typical of the era. Women characters were often portrayed as making uninformed assumptions or decisions.
raywest ★