Goofs for
The Music Man (1962) More at IMDbPro »

• Continuity: During the lively dance at the library, Marian backs up into Prof. Hill's leg twice.
  
  
• Continuity: During the "Shipoopi" number, Marcellus Washburn gives his hat to the little boy twice.
  
  
• Errors in geography: In the widescreen version, the power-towers and electrical wires in the Hollywood Hills behind the Warner Bros. backlot are plainly visible as Hill walks from the train depot into River City.
  
  

• Crew or equipment visible: Lights and camera equipment seen in the store windows during the "Wells Fargo Wagon" song number.
  
  
• Continuity: At the end of the Wells Fargo Wagon song, while Mayor Shinn is waiting for Marian to give him the education journal, Marian opens the book twice.
  
  
• Continuity: In the candy shop scene where Marian and Hill are sipping soda, Marian reaches into her purse twice.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: In the closing credits, when Susan Luckey and 'Timmy Everett (I)' have their moment while marching down the street, she nearly knocks off his tall hat with her baton, apologizing on camera.
  
  
• Anachronisms: Set in 1912, the song "Trouble" mentions both the beverage Bevo (first offered in 1916) and the magazine "Captain Billy's Whiz-Bang" (first published in 1919). "Whiz-Bang" is named for a type of artillery round in World War I (1914-1918)--the publisher was a veteran of that war.
  
  
• Anachronisms: This story takes place in 1912 - the adoption of the 48-star US flag is mentioned. At the climactic scene in the town's school, when the boys' band plays the Minuet of Beethoven, we see the state flag of Iowa, a flag that was not adopted until 1921.
  
  
• Continuity: Chairs in front of the stage move around during the July 4th celebration in the auditorium. First there are three together with one chair a ways off to the left; then later, as one of the school board members prepares to sit down, the four chairs are in a group.
  
  
• Continuity: Harold leaves Tommy to direct the band and goes to the Candy Kitchen, but sitting at the table is Tommy and Zaneeta.
  
  
• Continuity: The final parade sequence is filmed on both sunny and overcast days.
  
  
• Continuity: In the number Marian the Librarian, Harold runs off-screen, but on the next scene he is seen sitting where he ran off from.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: As Hill is getting onto the train at the beginning of the movie, it can be seen that the train's wheels are just painted on.
  
  
• Continuity: When talking with Marian about rumors, he lowers his pointing hand twice.
  
  
• Continuity: In the candy shop when Hill and Marion are sipping on their strawberry sodas, Hill releases his straw and the straw floats to the top. The camera angle changes with Hill holding the straw and it's at the bottom of the glass.
  
  
• Continuity: When Marion sings "My White Knight" in the kitchen, the water pitcher on the table faces one way and later, when the camera angle changes, it is facing 90 degrees different.
  
  
• Continuity: When Marion sings "Will I ever Tell You" on the front porch, Mrs. Paroo is leaning forward in her rocking chair, but when the camera angle changes, she is leaning back in the chair.
  
  
• Continuity: Prof. Harold Hill arrives in River City as the train approaches from platform left. As he leaves and waves to the passengers, the train leaves in the direction from which it arrived (platform left).
  
  
• Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Hill asks the townsfolk during the "Trouble" number: "Wanna see some stuck-up jockey boy sitting on Dan Patch?", as if champion racehorse Dan Patch was still active in 1912. Hill didn't know that Dan Patch was retired in 1910.
  
  

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