Revealing mistake: When the Apache war party starts its charge toward the High Chaparral, the dirt road beside them shows clear tire tread marks from the camera truck. (00:30:05)
Revealing mistake: The square base securing the knife sticking out of the abdomen of the army lieutenant is visible as he and Blue scuffle in the river.
Revealing mistake: The substitution of a "stunt horse" is noticeable here when Blue is thrown during an Apache attack. Before he falls off, his palomino horse has its usual blond mane and tail. But when the horse rears and he falls, it's another palomino with a grey mane and tail. The blond one is instantly back, though, when Blue gets up.
Gold Is Where You Leave It - S1-E19
Revealing mistake: Buck lights the fuse and tosses the dynamite-filled barrel at the bad guys. We see the explosion. Unfortunately, after that, we can also see the intact barrel still rolling away in the dirt.
Revealing mistake: At the end, El Tigre (Ricardo Montalban) is supposedly dead, draped over the horse as his brother leads them away. However, his right foot is in the stirrup, and it is obviously holding his weight...not dangling as the rest of the "corpse"
Revealing mistake: When Blue rides in with Moon Fire and Kelly, there are footprints visible in the dirt behind them. Several of the prints have distinctive patterned tread from what could only be 20th Century rubber-soled shoes.
Revealing mistake: Henry Darrow's stunt double is very noticeable during the final fight scene with Ramon. He's heavier, taller - and is wearing a very bad wig. (00:44:30)
Revealing mistake: At the end, we see insert close-ups of several of the pueblo's residents. But they're exactly the same shots we saw near the beginning of the episode: the same people in the exact same positions, shown in the same sequence. The footage is recycled.
Revealing mistake: During the fiesta, Reno plays his guitar in the canteen. Each time the musical chords change, we should see his left hand shift positions on the neck of the guitar. But though his right hand is vigorously strumming the strings through several chord changes, his left hand never moves.
Revealing mistake: When the rurales chase Manolito, he's riding Macadoo, his sorrel horse with the blond mane and tail. But the use of a stunt horse becomes obvious when Mano hides by leaping off into an arroyo and urging his mount to lie down beside him. Suddenly "Macadoo's" coat is a much darker brown and his mane and tail have also turned brown. He becomes a blond sorrel again, though, in the next scene.
Revealing mistake: When Buck gallops away from Mano and the newly-rescued Sarah, two jet contrails are visible in the sky at the upper left of the screen.
Revealing mistake: Apparently, Buck getting thrown off his horse, whose name was Rebel, wasn't in the script. When it happens, a startled Cameron Mitchell shouts at the horse using its real name, Prince. Despite the blooper, the shot wasn't cut. In fact, it happens at least two more times in other episodes of the series. (00:08:00)
Revealing mistake: During the cart-pulling scenes in the desert, the use of a stunt double becomes apparent when the usually reed-thin Victoria suddenly gains several pounds and some new muscles in the posterior region. (00:08:00)
Revealing mistake: When John runs out of the Simmons' house, a jet contrail is faintly visible in the sky at the far right of the screen.
Revealing mistake: After Buck knocks Bates out, Victoria takes the outlaw's clothes as a disguise in order to escape. Miraculously, Bates' clothes, despite his being a foot taller and considerably heavier than Victoria, fit her perfectly. She doesn't even have to roll up the shirt sleeves or the trouser legs.
Revealing mistake: When Buck comes across the first of two bodies in the desert, we see only the dead man's booted legs protruding from the bushes. When he finds the second body, the exact same shot of legs and boots (with the same bushes and rocks) is used over again with the film reversed.
Generation - S3-E25
Revealing mistake: Due to budget cuts in the 3rd season, an L.A. soundstage replica of the ranch house replaced the outdoor set, which was in Old Tuscon. The replacement was often painfully obvious. In this episode, a stock exterior shot of the real house, with its outside walls undecorated, contrasts with the mock-up, which has mounted cattle horns all over it.
Revealing mistake: The doll standing in for Baby Joey is visible in one shot of Victoria carrying the child on horseback. The blanket slips, leaving the doll's stiff neck, plastic head and shock of sticking-straight-up nylon hair all in plain view. (00:10:15)
