Battle of Britain (1969)
Goofs
Factual errors
The bombsight on the German 'Heinkel' is misrepresented. The open sights with the wire crosshairs shown were indeed used for rough aiming to steer the aircraft towards the target. But once over the target the bombardier switches to a regular monocular optical bombsight located in a compartment underneath the open sights. In the movie the bombardier dropped his bombs using the open sight.
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Anachronisms (17) |
Audio/visual unsynchronised (1) |
Character error (2) |
Continuity (8) |
Crew or equipment visible (3) |
Errors in geography (4) |
Factual errors (18) |
Miscellaneous (6) |
Plot holes (2) |
Revealing mistakes (14)
Anachronisms
Many of the female extras have 1960s hair styles.
In one airfield bombing scene, a Land Rover is seen driving on the airfield. The first Land Rovers did not go into production until 1948.
When ACM Dowding and the Air Minister are discussing relative aircraft numbers, the minister states, "We have radar". The term radar was not used in Britain in 1940. The term RDF was used.
The term radar was invented by the US Navy in 1940 and held as secret until later in the war.
Set in 1940, the German army's convoy in Nazi-occupied France
contains at least three Mack B-Series trucks, which were only built from 1952 to 1966. The Germans are also shown riding in US half-tracks.
As Andy and Skipper exit the white cottage, we see a modern-style plastic doorbell button, an up-and-over garage door and a 1960s exterior lamp.
The white cottage has a modern, 1960s, wooden door.
One of the Polish pilots is seen reading the "Dziennik Polski" newspaper.
That particular newspaper didn't go into print until 1945.
All of the flying models of the Bf-109 were the version built under license to Spain with the upright Hispano-Suiza engine. It has the overhead cam covers on top of the cowling which would obscure some forward vision compared to the smooth-top cowling of the inverted array having the overhead cam mechanism on the lower portion. There were few flying versions of the original Bf-109s, likely too few to be deemed usable for the film at the time.
In one scene where the fighters scramble from Hawkinge, you see them lift off and fly over Folkestone in the distance. In this shot you can see the large tower block which is the Civic Centre, it wasn't built until long after the war.
At the beginning of the final battle sequence the contrail of a jet airliner at high altitude can clearly be seen.
At the time of the Battle of Britain, most of the Spitfires still had the old straight-sided canopy (as seen on the Hurricanes) instead of the blown-out "Perspex hoods" canopy seen in the film.
When Pilot Officer Archie lands by parachute on the glass cold frame he is wearing what looks like Trainers. Being white and with white soles they are certainly not flying boots.
After the blitz, a car is seen driving around a side street. On this street is a concrete lamp post. That particular design of post did not appear until the 1950s as did the sodium bulbs
The scene in the pub between Christopher Plummer and Susannah York. The tongue and groove paneling behind the actors is modern composite board.
When Field Marshal Milch visits the soldiers for lunch at the Hotel de la Plaza, the officer who is announcing his arrival wears a pair of orange tinted sunglasses in a design that was not available in 1940 - they are very much late 50's style.
During one of the dogfights, the planes clearly pass by the Seven Sisters, a string of white chalk cliffs near Eastbourne in East Sussex. The shot continues to show Eastbourne itself including the pier. However the tall, white South Cliff Tower, well known as Eastbourne's only skyscraper, can be clearly seen. It wasn't built until 1965.
A fictitious 1940 fighter squadron is used, no. 188 but this was used earlier in "Appointment in London" for a Bomber Command squadron later in the war.
Audio/visual unsynchronised
As the Heinkels are flying up the Thames for the first daylight raid on London, the lead bombardier clearly says "Five seconds" in English, although the audio track has him saying "Fünf Sekunden" in German.
Character error
At 49mins, Warwick yells "put that cigarette out, can't you smell gas?"
Visible behind him are the open flames of a roaring fire, which would have ignited any gas leak anyway.
When the secretary at the British Embassy in Switzerland tells Baron von Richter that "it;'s nice to see [him] again so soon, " he replies that he came "straight from Berlin, an hour ago." This is impossible since Berlin is more than 460 miles/750 km, from Bern, the Swiss capital.
Continuity
On "Eagle Day" the Germans begin their bombing raids and Air Vice Marshal Park orders the squadrons to scramble. The clock in the command center doesn't change, even though Park admits that several of the squadrons took "six or seven minutes," to scramble.
During the dogfight sequence when Canfield is shot down by German fighters, the shot of his aircraft exploding in mid air as it is heading for the ground is not a Spitfire, but Canfield flies a Spitfire during the film and during this all important scene. He is seen taking off in one immediately prior to this sequence.
When the first Spitfire lands at the beginning of the film it has a round rear-view mirror at the top of the canopy. It switches to a rectangular model when the pilot is seen climbing out.
When the German convoy is headed toward the Channel, we see the barges numbered #123 and #237; these barges pass in front of the camera three times.
Harry Andrews' character is seen seated at his desk, wearing glasses, reading Dowding's letter to Churchill. As Dowding enters the room Andrews turns to speak to him and his glasses are now absent. The timing of the scene precludes him removing them as part of the action.
Shortly before the plotting room is bombed we see an RAF serviceman standing near the window, he ducks down long before the bomb hits.
When Squadron Leader Colin Harvey bails out, his cockpit is clearly ablaze, yet the external shot of him leaving the Spitfire clearly shows only the engine producing smoke.
When Hitler is giving his speech, camera angles from the back of the room show rows of men in the audience all the way up to the podium. Camera angles from behind Hitler show the first several rows filled with women auxiliary (wearing white shirts).
Crew or equipment visible
In the prologue set in France, when the first Hurricane taxis to a halt and the pilot gets out, the head of someone else in the plane is visible. It was probably the "driver" of the plane - several models constructed for the film which were capable of taxiing only.
During the Stuka raid on the radar stations, the guidance wires are clearly visible as one Stuka crashes into the ground.
During the Stuka attack on the British radar station one Stuka sustains a hit and crashes into the radar control hut. The wires suspending the model Stuka are clearly visible.
Errors in geography
At about 33mins in there is a German pilot briefing using a map of Southern England. The officer points out the targets, Dover, Manston.... Hawkinge. When he points to Hawkinge, he is really pointing at Hastings, which is about 40miles to the West.
At 26m 18s, a burning Heinkel is descending over Admiralty Arch in a north-easterly direction, precisely away from Buckingham Palace, which is about a half a mile to the south-east. A couple of seconds later, it continues its descent straight over Buckingham Palace.
When Goering visits the Pas-de-Calais, he looks across the English Channel at the White Cliffs of Dover through large binoculars. In the background, the sedimentary rocks are shown as dipping at about 45 degrees to the left. The dip of the rocks in the Pas-de-Calais area are very shallow and nowhere are the dips this steep. Presumably, these sequences were filmed in Spain.
(at about 33 minutes) The briefing to German airmen also incorrectly mentions Manston (Thames estuary) when the officer actually is pointing at the map roughly near Worthing - about 150km away on the south coast.
Factual errors
At the end of the movie a list showing all of the non-UK pilots flying for the RAF is shown. At the end of the list they mention one Israeli pilot flying for the RAF. Israel was not created until 1948, and in fact the pilot in question was from British Mandated Palestine. The one Icelandic pilot flying for the RAF in the Battle of Britain is not mentioned, neither are the pilot from Egypt, one from Austria nor the two from Jamaica.
The first German-language scenes show the Luftwaffe's inspector-general (Field Marshal Milch) making an inspection of several bases in occupied France. Despite his rank as a field marshal (as evidenced by the marshal's baton he carries), he is only addressed as "general," and the rank insignia on his shoulder boards appear to show the three pips appropriate to a full general (Generaloberst), rather than the crossed batons that would be correct for his actual rank.
When Goering is being addressed, the English subtitles translate "Reichsmarschall" (Marshal of the Reich) as Vice Marshal.
During the attack from Norway by Heinkels of Luftflotte 5 (at around 1 min), the Lieutenant flying the lead plane says over the radio "Tomato Eins an Alle, Tomato Eins an Alle, noch zehn minuten bis Ziel". In some versions of the film on the subtitles the first part of this is translated as "Tomato Heinz to all". The correct translation is "Tomato One to all, Tomato One to all, still 10 minutes until target".
The closing credits state that one Israeli pilot took part, the state of Israel did not exist in 1940 the area was Palestine. Israel was not created until 1948.
The film indicates the Blitz happened because the RAF bombed Berlin after a German bomber accidentally bombed a civilian area of London. However, in reality Hitler ordered the Blitz because the RAF had already bombed German cities every night since 15th May 1940.
When Air Vice Marshal Park visits Canfield at the latter's airfield, the designation of the squadron, "188", is shown on the door to the main office. No. 188 Squadron RAF did not exist during World War 2. No. 188 Squadron RAF was a World War 1 squadron that was active between 1917-1919. It has never been re-activated.
The Stukas level off before dropping their bombs. In reality, the bombs were dropped while the aircraft was still diving to ensure they hit the target they were pointed at. The aircraft leveled out only after the bombs were released.
When the Germans first start the daylight bombings of London, a group of boys is seen playing in the river. As the German bombers approach, two boys start to argue about the type of aircraft approaching. One boy says "Messerschmitt" and the other says "Heinkel". However, the subtitles translate it as "Iron Cross".
In scenes within Bentley Priory, the map of London shows the GLC boundary as it would have been after 1967 and not the LCC boundary as it was in 1940.
The subtitles on the screen incorrectly translate a German fighter pilot as saying, "Indiana break left." What he actually says is "Indians, break left," Indians being common Luftwaffe fighter code for enemy aircraft.
The navigation light on the starboard wing of the Junkers 52, delivering the 2 pilots to Berlin, is red. It should be green.
(at about 49 minutes) Susannah York is told to put her cigarette out because the gas mains was leaking. Meanwhile there are already fires burning all around.
In the attack from Norway, when the lead aircraft is attacked head on, it's clear that the camera viewpoint - supposedly that of the German pilot being attacked - is turning with the fighters as the Spitfires are maintaining a steady distance and the background sky is moving, rather than closing fast with a steady background as would be the case with a real head-on attack.
In the opening scenes, all the British Hurricane fighters are shown with individual letters, but none show squadron designations.
In the early part of the film German soldiers are shown marching with an M37, the M37 is an American SPG.
When a shot-down Heinkel bomber is plummeting straight down in vertical position, a brief interior shot shows the crew struggling to climb up to the escape hatch. In a free falling vehicle there are conditions of zero gravity inside it (as in a falling elevator) so crew would actually have no trouble at all to float up to the hatch.
The cast credits are stated to be in alphabetical order and are actually presented in three groups in alphabetical order within each group, but in the second group the name John Baskcomb is mis-alphabetized, and so is Alf Jungermann in the third group.
Miscellaneous
When Hitler is giving the speech about the bombing of London in retaliation of that of Berlin, he is incorrectly translated. He talks about 'kilograms' of bombs being dropped, the translation gives only 'number of bombs' and not the correct number at that.
English subtitles show a complete lack of understanding of the RAF in the war. Stanmore is repeatedly shown as 'Danmoor'. Biggin (Hill) is shown as 'Big Wing' and 'Begin', Hornchurch is completely missed off. Ventnor is misspelled, 'break left' is shown as 'brave left', 'lazy shower' as 'lazy shover' and so it goes on.
When the Germans are strafing the airfield one plane flies towards the camera with the sound of guns firing. A moment later another plane crosses from the right, with guns firing and the charges simulating bullet strikes erupt beneath it as it flies by. Immediately afterwards, the charges that were supposed to be synched with the first plane go off in the direction of the camera.
The Spitfires have the Squadron code of "AI" -- there was no "AI" squadron in the BOB. "AF" and "AK" were Hurricane squadrons, and "AZ" was a Spitfire squadron. There weren't any other "A" coded squadrons. Also, Michael Caine's squadron letters are "CD" - there weren't any "C" coded squadrons either.
One of the Heinkel III bombers taking off to attack England on Eagle Day has a Spanish Air Force Roundel just visible under the paint (port side wing by the German Black Cross). The Spanish Air Force supplied the "Luftwaffe" planes for the film.
In the scene where Kenneth More is talking to Susannah York
and the Germans start to bomb the airfield; the blast from the first bomb landing in the distance is heard at the same time as the blast occurs. Both actors react to the true sound seconds later, making them look rather slow on the uptake.
Plot holes
Archie parachutes and lands in a greenhouse full of primulas in full flower. Primulas are a spring flower (early spring if in a greenhouse) and the action at that point takes place in September.
Sgt Pilot Andy never pays the taxi driver who brings him to the London docklands. As the driver only explains that the route is blacked after he has stepped out, he could not have paid the correct fare inside the cab.
Revealing mistakes
A Spitfire gets bombed during a take off run and crashes into a truck which explodes. The stuntman who runs away from the truck can clearly be seen waiting for his cue to start running. Audible aircraft tire squealing is heard on a grass field. The truck also explodes just before the Spitfire actually hits it.
(at around 30 mins) A Polish flight of Hurricanes is flying in formation with Messerschmitt 109s (the 109s at the rear). The 109s can be easily distinguished from the Hurricanes by their tailplane struts.
In the scene of Heinkels taking off, you can clearly see the painted Spanish Air Force roundel on the upper surface of the wing, under the "German" paint scheme.
Though tarmac runways at the bombed Duxford airfield show black areas, actual explosions take place on grass surfaces only. German bombs somehow 'skip' the tarmac runways.
During scenes shot in the British cockpits it becomes obvious that many of the British aircraft have been painted on the inside of the cockpit canopies. All the real aircraft are seen to gently rise and drop through out the scene, but the aircraft painted on the canopies stay put in their positions. Sometimes a distant aircraft will partially overlay the closer real aircraft.
As the Heinkels approach the London Docklands, the shot from behind the aircraft shows them not moving in relation to each other at all, yet the background aerial view judders about, revealing that this is a group of plastic models being filmed.
At the beginning of the film, an Me109 strafes a Hurricane. The 109 is over the Hurricane before the bullets strike the ground and airplane.
When part of a burning warehouse collapses, the cable pulling it down can be seen running down to the bottom right-hand corner of the shot.
When the German pilot is shot in the head his face is instantaneously covered in 'blood', including the outside of his goggles, revealing that the fake blood was simply spayed into his face.
Some of the fighter aircraft are shown with what we would now call "head up display" type gunsights, with the reflection of a cross hair on a piece of glass angled at 45 degrees. Whilst these did exist, they are very difficult to film due to the way they work (the reflection is visible ONLY from the pilot's seat), and sadly the ones in the movie are clearly simply painted on to the glass.
At 36:48 the young airman moves his bike from the fire bucket stand and several of the buckets swing freely - revealing they are not filled with sand or water, but are empty.
When oil is seen to spray onto the cockpit windows of plane in trouble it is playing on the glass if (as it probably was) sprayed by a crew member.
When the air raid on Berlin begins the street lights are switched off. The light level in the street is barely seen to change, when in fact it would have been plunged into darkness.
The front gunner of a German bomber is hit by machine-gun fire and thrown backwards by the impact, revealing large amounts of fake blood already visible on his stomach and abdomen. Blood would take at least a few seconds to leak through heavy flight clothing.
