A couple ob bloopers, TV & movie

[Bob Wright]

I was watching an episode of Ginsmoke recently and noticed this:

The outlaws were hled up in a cabin, a fire going in the fireplace and a pot of coffee brewed. On of the men grabs the coffee pot, quickly sets it down on the table shaking his burned hand. Then,picks up a cup and proceeds to take the "hot" pot and pour himself a cup of coffee without noticing the handle is hot.

And, in a spaghetti western, I thnk with Clint Eastwood, there are two men on a train, one whose face is hidden by a book. The book is ornate and the title is clearly seen. It says "The Bible." Apparently they did not have a real Bible on the set, which would have as its title "Holy Bible."

Bob Wright

 

[Sacramento Johnson]

Was watching "Elkhorn" yesterday; am glad to see a new western, but the continuity person needs to be fired. Secondary lead character in his office has a black gunbelt with a black holster on (why a newspaper editor would wear one in the first place is a good question), later walks out the door and the belt turns light brown; next scene it's black again. Later, same character is delivering his big speech at the end revealing the murderer; he has his hat on BACKWARDS the whole time. Props are poor as well; fake sixguns, hats with wires in the brim, modern crease hats (and way too clean and stiff brimmed), hats that change from scene to scene on the same character, Hats with the hatband bow/tie on the wrong side (they should be on the left side), gunbelts that change the way they are worn on the same character, a stage coach pulled by only TWO horses (atleast give us a 4-up!), the list just goes on. I realize this is probably a shoestring production budget, but someone really needs to get their act together. Even though "Gunsmoke" had errors like the OP posted above from time to time, they handled continuity and worn clothing better than this and such errors really detract from the viewing for this audience member...

 

[nvbirdman]

I always get a kick out of the guys going to town with a fully loaded cartridge belt. A fully loaded thirty round belt of 45colt would add a full pound to carry around all day. Wouldn't you just carry six spare rounds and throw a full box in your saddlebags?

 

[Laserbait]

I love those gaffes! The first one I ever remember seeing was from the movie The Last Starfighter. The Pilot and his RIO just finished using their ultimate defensive weapon, and the ship had a failure. The RIO was trying to fix the problem, and had a circuit board in his hand. There was a 9 volt battery connector dangling off of it! Hahaha!

I was 12 at the time, and blurted out to my mom (and the rest of the theater): "That's a transistor radio with a 9 volt connector!". We laughed about that for a long time.

 

[blume357]

The first time I saw something similar to this was back in the late 60's early 70's with the show 'The FBI" starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr... he and others had been trying to track down some wanted felon all over the country and finally found him in a cabin on a beach near Charleston S.C.
Then when they got to the cabin the guy ran out and ran down a path way along this tall cliff down to the beach..... the closest thing to a cliff like that in S.C. is about 240 miles north.

 

[Jeepnik]

The first time I saw something similar to this was back in the late 60's early 70's with the show 'The FBI" starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr... he and others had been trying to track down some wanted felon all over the country and finally found him in a cabin on a beach near Charleston S.C.
Then when they got to the cabin the guy ran out and ran down a path way along this tall cliff down to the beach..... the closest thing to a cliff like that in S.C. is about 240 miles north.

That's because it was filmed in California. Actually, not far from where I live.

 

[Mobuck]

It's good to hear that I'm not the only one who nitpicks the TV shows/movies. Being a 'horse guy' AND a 'gun guy' makes for a LOT of historical corrections.

 

[41Dude]

In the movie THE MARTIAN The actor Michael Pena makes a joke about eating a little Mexican (talking about himself) I do not want to say why he said it, (spoiler) but it makes sense in the movie. The joke is in the Blu-ray version. It is not in the online streaming version. Sure glad the censorship gremlins are protecting me

 

[vito]

Most of the little continuity issues are not even noticed by most viewers. When they are really glaring they break the "magic" of the whole "make believe" of TV or a movie. When we really, really let ourselves think about what we are watching, and remind ourselves that it is all fakery for entertainment, it can be hard to even focus on the story. When a movie or show is done reasonably well, we can lose ourselves in the story and stop even thinking about how it is all make believe. That's how a viewer can actually feel fear or sadness, whatever, and not just find themselves thinking, "well, none of this is real so don't let emotion get into the experience" or thoughts like that.

So for me, I probably don't even notice the change of a hat, or even possibly a gun being used that did not even exist at the time the story is supposed to be taking place. But when, for example, there is a closeup of a gun, with a tiny barrel opening, obviously a pellet gun or maybe a 22, or when the actor repeatedly pulls the trigger on a semi auto and it clicks each time without cycling or firing, the magic is gone for that moment. Just like when you might see a jet plane in the distant sky of a western show, or some other gross anomaly.

 

[41Dude]

Or on NCIS. The Gibbs character over and over pulls his 1911 out to battle the bad guys and almost always the hammer is down.
You would think the armorer on set would say to the Star, cock the hammer dude.

 

[Sacramento Johnson]

I noticed the 1911 gaffe also with Gibbs/NCIS; saw the same in a Brosnan Bond film also. Like Vito said, it messes with the "willing suspension of disbelief" needed when watching a film or TV show.
Didn't see that sort of thing with Selleck and his 1911 during his Jesse Stone films.

 

[Buckshot Bill]

To follow up on Sacramento Johnson's post, if you watch the scene again where that guy has his hat on backwards, when he comes outside,immediately after that speech where he reveals the murderer-- he has his hat turned around and has it on correctly!!
Shoddy continuity indeed! Somebody oughta be shown the door!
[Boy, I've got too much time on my hands!]

 

[el caminero]

I was watching an episode of Ginsmoke recently and noticed this:

The outlaws were hled up in a cabin, a fire going in the fireplace and a pot of coffee brewed. On of the men grabs the coffee pot, quickly sets it down on the table shaking his burned hand. Then,picks up a cup and proceeds to take the "hot" pot and pour himself a cup of coffee without noticing the handle is hot.

And, in a spaghetti western, I thnk with Clint Eastwood, there are two men on a train, one whose face is hidden by a book. The book is ornate and the title is clearly seen. It says "The Bible." Apparently they did not have a real Bible on the set, which would have as its title "Holy Bible."

Bob Wright

Ya sure he dint have a gun hid in it, like in buck and the preacher

 

[el caminero]

Or on NCIS. The Gibbs character over and over pulls his 1911 out to battle the bad guys and almost always the hammer is down.
You would think the armorer on set would say to the Star, cock the hammer dude.

So, why does bugg bunny's chromey gun in fools gold go "pank" everytime he fires it off?

 

[Guv]

Watching Combat, which is a favorite show from my childhood, I can't believe that the soldiers with the Tommy Guns always shoot from the hip. Was this reality or just Hollywood? I can't imagine not trying to use the sights.

 

[Sacramento Johnson]

More Hollywood than reality I suspect. (See pic: https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/the-g-i-thompson-in-world-war-ii/
I shot a full auto Thompson in the past; firing from shoulder was much more accurate, usually in 3 round bursts; start low and left and let it climb up and right. Firing from the hip was just for the fun of it; one held the trigger and just let it rip!

 

[375hh1973]

Im the opposite when I watch tv or a movie. I just wanna be entertained.

I don't count shots, don't worry if a guy racks his pump shotgun 4 different times before shooting, ect

 

[Armybrat]

For me, the worst gaffe (not a blooper) was by the venerable John Ford in his otherwise epic, "The Searchers" with John Wayne.
Opening the film with Monument Valley and subsequent scenes as 1874 West Texas was really too much and inexcuseable.

 

[freakindawgen]

Rawhide, wearing Levi's and back pockets had wallet and skol cans worn into them.

 

[JimC1953]

Not firearm related gaffe but geography. In the movie "Bird on a Wire", Goldie Hawn and Mel Gibson jump on a ferry at one point - it is the "Detroit - Racine Ferry" and they take the ferry from Detroit, Michigan to Racine, Wisconsin. Apparently no one related to the production ever looked at a map.

They also have a chase through the famous China Town in Racine. My parents were born in Racine, many relatives there or near there still, and never saw "China Town" in all the time there.

And never found the Detroit-Racine ferry which apparently saves a lot of time on that trip. Would have been so much shorter going from Port Huron to Racine over the years!