Andy and Opie - Bachelors - S3-E4
Revealing mistake: After Andy and Opie choose between chicken and pot roast using a nickle, when Opie gives the nickle back to Andy the window over the sink is missing - the fake window wasn't put up on the set wall for this shot, but when the food burns the window and curtains are up there as usual.
Revealing mistake: During the holdup at the bank, while the bank robber's holding Asa's broken gun, when Andy motions to Asa to duck out of the way in the closeup we can see the two thin wires to the left and right pulling the gun apart.
Revealing mistake: The jailed criminals take the key and open the jail cell door. The problem is the dead bolt never moves with the key, showing the door was never locked to begin with.
Revealing mistake: In the scene where Andy starts reading Opie a story, watch when the first woman rings the doorbell. As soon as Andy opens the door you can see that the set all of a sudden gets a lot brighter, as if they turned more lights on.
Revealing mistake: Before Barney jumps out from behind the crate to surprise the two cops in the alley you can hear the director yell out "Don".
Answer: As noted in the previous answers, in real life, things like this provided wind and/or rain deflection, and also maintained a bit of privacy when blinds were raised somewhat. The interior courthouse set was located in the studio, so the "outside" Main Street didn't exist. I believe these things were added to the courthouse windows for practicality, to avoid some crew movement being visible on the opposite side of those windows. These are not "window boxes" to hold anything, as they're actually bottomless; we can see the Venetian blind's long pull cords under them. They're made of plywood and simple to build, so the "material and labor" was inexpensive. Similar variations made of different materials are in other movies/shows. In 1957's "12 Angry Men," textured chicken wire glass panels are in the jury room windows, and in "Jesse Stone: Night Passage" another type is in Jesse's office windows.
Super Grover ★