X-Frame Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 (edited) One thing that always irks me when seeing period piece movies is that when I see a car fitted with modern size tires. They stick out like a sore thumb to me and ruins the believability moment. I recently re-watched "The Right Stuff" and one character is driving a 1953 Chevy BelAir Convertible. The tires were waaay to wide for this car... obvious modern radials. It came originally with 6.70x15 which equates in the next set as P205/75 with a tread width of only 5.8 inches. They are not only forgetting that the tread width seen on the movie car is about 2 inches wider but the width to height ratio also changes making them a bit smaller looking in sidewall height as well. Another thing is aftermarket leather steering wheel wraps seen in 1950s period movies when I don't think they even came out until the 1960s. These are what the movie industry call "continuity" issues and hire people to make sure things are correct. Apparently this slipped through. Edited January 17, 2012 by X-Frame (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ply33 Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 When I was very young I thought I could work in the movie industry as a consultant to notify to point out this type of error. By the time I was 12 I figured out that they don't really care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Saw the movie "The Last Convertible", I believe, where it showed the driver of the car from the front. All of the cars on the street were period...40's. When they showed the driver from the side, the car went past all of these driveways where all of the modern cars, suvs and motor homes were parked, supposedly tucked away. You could see them clear as day. Talk about needing some editing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Maine Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 The Industry doesn't care because the average person doesn't know the difference. It's only us intelligent car guys that notice this stuff. When I complain about some movie when the cops leave in an Impala, are shown on the road in a Plymouth and arrive in a Ford, my wife says "what difference does it make? They all look alike." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motoringicons Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 I forget the name of the movie now, but there is a famous Civil War film where if you pay attention, you can see very modern wristwatches being worn by the soldiers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jim_Edwards Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 To me it's like game of seeing how many technical mess ups I can see during the course of a picture or TV show. It hasn't been that long ago that some TV show I was watching had the same guy in a sequence of scenes with three different sports jackets and ties. That sort of thing happens because they don't shoot scenes in script order and one scene may be shot days later from one appearing first. It's all about managing locations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 NOT to forget the various things in the "Julia" movie's Buick station wagon!NTX5467 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amphicar BUYER Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 ...or how every car is equiped with a Chrysler starter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 ...or how every car is equiped with a Chrysler starter.Yep....that cracks me up. That sound is unmistakable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 It is nothing new. In a 1947 Thin Man movie I notice Nick and Nora leave the house in a 1947 DeSoto taxicab, followed by stock shots of a 1936 DeSoto taxi going up the street, then they arrive at their destination in the 47 taxi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave@Moon Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 ...or how every car is equiped with a Chrysler starter.I have yet to see a movie or television show where that sound isn't dubbed in any time someone starts a hybrid car (almost always a Prius). Obviously in reality they start silently, which apparently isn't dramatic enough for many film editors. After you've driven a hybrid for a while this is one of the stupidest things you can hear, like hearing a Klaxton horn coming from a Lamborghini. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TG57Roadmaster Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 A personal favorite is when the luxury car plummets over a cliff and the car that bursts into flames is a workaday model, years older. I completely understand the logic, financially and otherwise, but it's fun to try to figure out what gets torched, crunched, or otherwise obliterated. It happens alot to '41 Buicks in wartime flics, like 1942's In This Our Life, with Bette Davis and Olivia DeHavilland. During a high speed chase, Bette's '41 Roadmaster ragtop goes thru a fence, down a not-too-steep embankment and, naturally, catches fire. But the flaming overturned wreck has suddenly sported rear leaf springs! 1945's Conflict, with Bogart and Alexis Smith use both a '41 Limited and (likely) a Roadmaster convertible,but saves money on destruction by using models of both cars in critical mountain scenes...LargerLargerLargerLargerLarger, the dastardly Bogie offs his wife by sending her Limited on an unexpected scenic detour.Larger, it sure would be nice to find one or both of those '41 Buick movie models!LargerDefinitely worth a watch the next time it's on TCM; I have to get better pics of the little Roadmaster.TG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 My absolute favorite is hearing cars in movies squeal the tires when they take off.....on a dirt road!!! Have seen that so many times that it becomes predictable......Of course, in a lot of movie shots with stars in cars (before green screens and computer generated), the car is on a trailer going down the road...and there'll be twists and turns, but the driver never moves the steering wheel....One has to suspend reality for so many movies, so I agree with the comment, most people don't care......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Ever notice on "CHIPS" when the two policemen are riding side by side that they are actually both on a trailer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poci1957 Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Timelines are my biggest problem in this area. It seems I recall the "Dillinger" movie a few years ago prominently featured the grille of a 1935-36 Chevy in the introduction, when Dillinger was actually killed in July of 1934. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest billybird Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 I love to look for that stuff too. However, I occasionaly see a vehicle with an AACA badge{s] affixed to the front. I look for that too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amphicar BUYER Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Remember "Vanishing Point"? It's a movie featuring a '70 Challenger until it runs head-on into a bulldozer. Well, I did a frame by frame look at that crash. Seems it transforms into a 69 Camaro moments before impact. Early transformers? Maybe, I just dunno. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X-Frame Posted January 18, 2012 Author Share Posted January 18, 2012 (edited) Saw the movie "The Last Convertible", I believe, where it showed the driver of the car from the front. All of the cars on the street were period...40's. When they showed the driver from the side, the car went past all of these driveways where all of the modern cars, suvs and motor homes were parked, supposedly tucked away. You could see them clear as day. Talk about needing some editing...That reminds me of the movie "Tora, Tora, Tora" (WWII Pearl Harbor invasion when the Japanese planes are flying over the island and you can see modern 1970s car profiles on the ground in parking lots.Related is when I see things like pigtail cords on telephone receivers in 1930-1940s period movies. Edited January 18, 2012 by X-Frame (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X-Frame Posted January 18, 2012 Author Share Posted January 18, 2012 The Industry doesn't care because the average person doesn't know the difference. It's only us intelligent car guys that notice this stuff. When I complain about some movie when the cops leave in an Impala, are shown on the road in a Plymouth and arrive in a Ford, my wife says "what difference does it make? They all look alike."Seen this a lot in old 'B' movies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X-Frame Posted January 18, 2012 Author Share Posted January 18, 2012 I forget the name of the movie now, but there is a famous Civil War film where if you pay attention, you can see very modern wristwatches being worn by the soldiers.I remember when I was younger seeing what I believe to be a black and white John Wayne movie.. a Western just the same, and on the hill you can clearly see a 1957 Ford! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X-Frame Posted January 18, 2012 Author Share Posted January 18, 2012 (edited) To me it's like game of seeing how many technical mess ups I can see during the course of a picture or TV show. It hasn't been that long ago that some TV show I was watching had the same guy in a sequence of scenes with three different sports jackets and ties. That sort of thing happens because they don't shoot scenes in script order and one scene may be shot days later from one appearing first. It's all about managing locations.This is where continuity comes in and the people paid to make sure this doesn't happen (their names are listed in the movie credits). Things from costume changes, hair and makeup, sets, even the placement of items. Also things like car makes, colors, and appropriate items seen on the car such as tires, wheel covers, etc… I also remember watching the infamous movie "Mommie Dearest" about Joan Crawford and when young Christina goes behind the bar to fix a visitor a drink, there is a trigger spray bottle of 409 cleaner in it. First off, 409 wasn't even invented until 1957 and trigger sprayers until the 1960s but wasn't even used much until late 60s. 409 came in squeeze bottles even up to and sure beyond 1967. The timeframe portrayed was in the 1940s.I know people like Oliver Stone are sticklers for accuracy and James Cameron was a terror on "Titanic" making sure even screws on the door hinges were correct. Who would see them? HE would!The fluff movie "Pearl Harbor" that came out a few years ago was eye candy but unrealsitic. Again, tires and wheel covers incorrect on some cars and let's get real... do you think "every" car you would have seen on the street in 1941 would have been squeeky clean and pristine? Edited January 18, 2012 by X-Frame (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X-Frame Posted January 18, 2012 Author Share Posted January 18, 2012 Ever notice on "CHIPS" when the two policemen are riding side by side that they are actually both on a trailer?They do that so they can 1) control the camera and 2) safety of the actors. Many scenes with moving backgrounds are cars on trailers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X-Frame Posted January 18, 2012 Author Share Posted January 18, 2012 A personal favorite is when the luxury car plummets over a cliff and the car that bursts into flames is a workaday model, years older. I completely understand the logic, financially and otherwise, but it's fun to try to figure out what gets torched, crunched, or otherwise obliterated. It happens alot to '41 Buicks in wartime flics, like 1942's In This Our Life, with Bette Davis and Olivia DeHavilland. During a high speed chase, Bette's '41 Roadmaster ragtop goes thru a fence, down a not-too-steep embankment and, naturally, catches fire. But the flaming overturned wreck has suddenly sported rear leaf springs! 1945's Conflict, with Bogart and Alexis Smith use both a '41 Limited and (likely) a Roadmaster convertible,but saves money on destruction by using models of both cars in critical mountain scenes...Definitely worth a watch the next time it's on TCM; I have to get better pics of the little Roadmaster.TGI think what you are seeing here is an early model design and not leaf springs but simply a rear axle support. Many of these models were "curbside" meaning they had no chassis detail. I know, I look for the chassis when cars go over cliffs or flips over. As you know the last year Buick to have leaf springs was 1937. This could also be the exhaust pipe as they ran on the outside towards the rear then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 The first time I heard about a movie or TV "mistake" was when I was fairly young, and I want to think it was about the TV show Bonanza.....here are the Cartwrights, riding around on their farm in eighteen-whenever, and you could see jet contrails in the sky above them!I remember being an extra in a movie, time was set around 1912 in New Orleans. They even had period shoes for us to wear, something I bet very few people would notice nor care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 (edited) I think the first time I recognized an inconsistency in a movie was in "Bonnie and Clyde" where they pull into a gas station to get gas and Bonnie asks the service attendant if he knows what kind of car this is. He says something like, "It's a 1930 Ford Sport coupe" and Bonnie says, "No....it's a STOLEN 1930 Ford sport coupe." It is actually a roadster or cabriolet. Edited January 18, 2012 by keiser31 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X-Frame Posted January 18, 2012 Author Share Posted January 18, 2012 I think the first time I recognized an inconsistency in a movie was in "Bonnie and Clyde" where they pull into a gas station to get gas and Bonnie asks the service attendant if he knows what kind of car this is. He says something like, "It's a 1930 Ford Sport coupe" and Bonnie says, "No....it's a STOLEN 1930 Ford sport coupe." It is actually a roadster or cabriolet.I have the movie and will take a look. I do know there were at least 2 differemt color 1930 Model A DeLuxe Roadsters in the movie - one tan and the other black or dark blue... need to look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X-Frame Posted January 18, 2012 Author Share Posted January 18, 2012 The first time I heard about a movie or TV "mistake" was when I was fairly young, and I want to think it was about the TV show Bonanza.....here are the Cartwrights, riding around on their farm in eighteen-whenever, and you could see jet contrails in the sky above them!I remember being an extra in a movie, time was set around 1912 in New Orleans. They even had period shoes for us to wear, something I bet very few people would notice nor care.I am sure that also happened a lot when the director isn't paying attention. Hey from a fellow Virginian (Richmond) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TG57Roadmaster Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 I think what you are seeing here is an early model design and not leaf springs but simply a rear axle support. Many of these models were "curbside" meaning they had no chassis detail. I know, I look for the chassis when cars go over cliffs or flips over. As you know the last year Buick to have leaf springs was 1937. This could also be the exhaust pipe as they ran on the outside towards the rear then.Right X-Frame, the leaf springs I referenced were in a different flic on a '41 RM convertible, not this Conlfict Limited model. Next time In This Our Life is on, I'll get pics of the RM.The film is memorable as the first time I saw it was on a big-screen at a NYC revival house,back in the mid-'80's. Great fun!TG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Lichtfel Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 The new movie War Horse, great movie but the 1914 scene shows a black radiator Ford truck. Very obvious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarlLaFong Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 I think the first time I recognized an inconsistency in a movie was in "Bonnie and Clyde" where they pull into a gas station to get gas and Bonnie asks the service attendant if he knows what kind of car this is. He says something like, "It's a 1930 Ford Sport coupe" and Bonnie says, "No....it's a STOLEN 1930 Ford sport coupe." It is actually a roadster or cabriolet.Micheal J. Pollard. "It's a Ford 'Coopay'." Warren Beatty, "No, it is a stolen Ford 'coopay'."In the movies, all motorcycles are either two strokes or sound like an HD.I recall a movie that I saw many years ago, that had a scene showing an old "rail job" leaving the starting line. They dubbed in the sound of, what was probably, a 30s Packard running through the gears. Hilarious.My favorite bit of movie and TV idiocy, besides bullets that spark, is, what I call, The Magic Wires. All cars have them. They are accessed by breaking the tempered side glass with your fist or elbow and entering the car. By reaching under the dash, one can yank out a bundle of wires that resembles an electricians recycle bin. Giant wads of THHN copper wire. Within this mass of random length wire, lies The Magic Wires. Two wires that are bare at the ends. By rapidly scratching them together, like a Boy Scout starting a fire, the car, magically, starts with a magnificent display of sparks, left over, I suppose, from some unused bullets. The Magic Wires also disengage the steering and transmission locks. I know you're supposed to suspend disbelief but come on guys. Some of us know better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 I was always amazed at how the crooks (or goodguys trying to chase the crooks) knew just where to grab and which wires were the ones they wanted. I guess they knew the common color codes??? Plus how quickly and easily the cars started!If the car cranked, cranked, and didn't start, there was usually somebody standing nearby with the distributor rotor or a gas can. Guess they didn't have a chase scene budgeted?Getting a little more modern, there used to be some C-level mafiaoso movies on early am weekend television. In one scene, there's a chase in the desert near Las Vegas. Several upper-scale 1955-56 cars (Oldsmobiles, Cadillacs, maybe a Buick, too) who were "caravan chasing" each other on a winding road. All of the windows were down on the 4 dr hardtops, which looked kind of neat, but it was apparent the vehicle speed was more like 30mph than 60mph. Dubbed-in engine sounds (like they were in low gear at 4000rpm+) and tire noise. NO lost wheel covers! But a driver got too sloppy and crashed through a wooden guard rail and "over the cliff". Sometimes, the car would blow up in mid-air, other times, after it'd already crashed. "Orchestrated dramatics".These were the movies which usually followed Saturday night wrestling . . . other "orchestrated dramatics" (although we didn't believe they were "fake" back then).Enjoy!NTX5467 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Skyking Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 I have yet to see a movie or television show where that sound isn't dubbed in any time someone starts a hybrid car (almost always a Prius). Obviously in reality they start silently, which apparently isn't dramatic enough for many film editors. After you've driven a hybrid for a while this is one of the stupidest things you can hear, like hearing a Klaxton horn coming from a Lamborghini.Speaking of Pruis's, how about Larry David running out of gas with his in an episode. :eek: What's with that?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Dobbin Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 I'm glad we all like movies and can find the errors in the vehicles. If you watch for factual representation of history you will find lots more errors.We should pay that close attention to political ads, talk shows and opinion shows, which are full if intentional misrepresentations. (Even the TV Car Auctions)The sport of finding mistakes in movies can apply to all media, heard, read or seen. Makes it interesting! Kind of like the myth that all Model T Fords were black, which lives on in infamy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Maine Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Yep....that cracks me up. That sound is unmistakable.Or when Steve McGarrett comes to a stop in his '68 Park Lane and always locks the brakes just a little bit when it's obvious he's not going fast enough for the tires to squeel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave@Moon Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Speaking of Pruis's, how about Larry David running out of gas with his in an episode. :eek: What's with that??That was actually a very common problem in Priuses when they first came out and everyone was a novice hybrid driver. The thing is, if you don't drive a lot of miles the car uses so little gas it was not unusual for some people to forget all about gas.===============One of my favorite movies screw-ups of all time is the entire onscreen run of the Burt Reynolds movie White Lightning (1973). In it his character is given a 1971 Ford Galaxie 500 that the police have supposedly modified with a floor-shifted 4 speed transmission (in addition to a lot of other performance equipment). Throughout the movie anytime Burt stops the car he obviously (and with flourish) grabs the column shifter and puts it in Park! Also at one point the dashboard is shown several times, showing him doing well over 100 mph on the speedometer. Unfortunately at the bottom of the frame the dash shift indicator (which shouldn't be there in the first place) clearly shows the car to be in Park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Mellor NJ Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Burt also goes to jail in "The Longest Yard" for wrecking his girlfriend's Maserati. He did leave her apartment in the expensive Masi but it magically transformed into a Citroen on its way to the lake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 In the movie, Seabiscuit, there is a sceen where a styled John Deere D is grooming the track and stalls. It sounds like a Model A Ford starting, and someone crudly shifting it off of the track. Everyone knows that old John Deere tractors go Putt- putt- putt, and not Vrrroooommmmmm, Vrrroooommmmmm. Even young childern reconize that unmisakable JD sound. LOL.. Dubbing was pretty lame. Dandy Dave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 In one 1948 movie a brand new Lincoln Continental convertible goes over a cliff and magically turns into a 1942 Ford with a continental kit and the roof sawed off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webstdw Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 We have a Bonnie and Clyde movie car and the brakes squeel just like the sound effects, they got that one right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X-Frame Posted January 19, 2012 Author Share Posted January 19, 2012 (edited) Right X-Frame, the leaf springs I referenced were in a different flic on a '41 RM convertible, not this Conlfict Limited model. Next time In This Our Life is on, I'll get pics of the RM.The film is memorable as the first time I saw it was on a big-screen at a NYC revival house,back in the mid-'80's. Great fun!TGThere is a horrible YouTube clip of the crash scene pieced together as a joke clip about speeding. It shows the Buick going over but I can't make out the car that is seen rolling. I do know that if this is a "real" car it is NOT a Buick. I say that (hence my user ID)... the one rolling did not have an X-Frame - more in line with a Chevrolet of the era instead. Chevy was the only GM model that didn't use the X frame extensively prior to the 1958-1964 run except on convertibles after 1939 and one other exception, the 1935 Standard.Almost all cars between 1932-1960-ish had X frames except a few brands. By 1965 almost all cars abandoned the X except for Buick Riviera (until 1970) , the Checker (until 1982), and a few other specialty cars and foreign makes.Eric Edited January 19, 2012 by X-Frame (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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