Goofs
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Anachronisms (9) |
Character error (2) |
Continuity (11) |
Factual errors (2) |
Plot holes (1) |
Revealing mistakes (5) |
Spoilers (4)
Anachronisms
Denham asks Ann if she wears a size 4. Commercial standards for clothing sizes were formally accepted in 1957, and they started at size 8.
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Floodlighting of the upper floors and tower of the Empire State Building began with the 1964 World's Fair. No such lighting existed in the night sky of the 1930's.
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At approx 1h 15m, at the end of the sequence where Kong carries Ann through the forest, there is a very brief scene where you can see that Ann is wearing pantyhose (not invented at that time) and you do not see her in stockings after that.
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After Denham drops his camera and the film falls out, it is clearly a modern tripack color negative and not a 1930's vintage black and white negative. You can tell because of the orange/brown color of the material.
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In one scene, it is shown that there is a name of the town of 'Surabaya' (Indonesia) under the name of S.S. Venture. 'Surabaya' is its modern spelling. If it was 1933, it should have been spelled 'Soerabaja'. The spelling was changed in late 1960s.
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The on screen camera and sound recording gear depicted in the film bear no resemblance to the mass of equipment; mixers, recorders, lead-acid batteries, heavy cables, generators, and tens of thousand of feet of film (ten minutes worth weights 5 pounds) required for a location sound production (even a documentary) in the period the film is supposedly set. Sound cameras were never hand-cranked but instead, electrically driven from the same generator that connected to the sound recorder in order for them to stay in sync. And the sound recorder, then called a sound camera employed a photographic rather than magnetic recording process, which didn't come in to common use until after WWII.
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When Driscoll enters the elevator at the Empire State Building during the film's climax, he reaches over to select a floor, revealing that the elevator features self-service. Elevator operators were still employed in the Empire State Building during the early 1930s.
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Peggy Lee did not begin her recording career until the early 1940s. Her recording of "Bye Bye Blackbird," used in a nightclub scene, dates from 1955, more than twenty years after the time of the film.
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Before leaving port, Denham tells his asst. to pack "Red Label 80 per cent proof" into a crate labeled "lemonade". At present, Johnnie Walker Red Label scotch sold in the US is 80 proof (meaning 40% alcohol). However, until the late 1980's and early 1990's, almost all blended scotch sold in the US, including Red Label, was reduced from 86 and 86.8 proof (or 43% and 43.4% alcohol) to 80 proof (or 40% alcohol). Though numerous single malts are still 86 proof, from 1909 into the 1980's, Red Label, which is a blended scotch, would have been at least 86 proof. Denham's mistake of saying "per cent proof" is a natural mistake that the character may have made, and may even have been intended by the writers, but referring to Red Label as 80 proof back in the 1930's is a definite goof.
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Character error
In New York, Carl Denham states that 17 crew members died on Skull Island. The actual death count is 27.
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Before Kong picks up Hayes he fires a shot from his pistol, then you see him cocking his weapon back again while he is in Kong's hands. He was shooting a semi-automatic pistol so there was no need to cock the gun again.
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Continuity
When Kong is carrying Ann during the fight with the dinosaurs, Ann's legs are facing one direction and her torso (including her head) is facing the opposite direction.
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When Ann slides down a muddy slope, her back is covered with very dark mud. When she gets up, her back is clean.
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When Ann disarms Kong, she jumps onto the floor with her head up. When she jumps back up again, dirt is on her forehead. A few seconds later, her forehead is clean.
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When Kong is chasing Jack Driscoll, you see a shot of an alleyway with a woman in white walking across the alleyway. The camera cuts to the opposite end of the alley, and the woman has disappeared.
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During the brontosaur jostling scene in the canyon, Bruce Baxter's character is threatened by a velociraptor standing just above his head. Seen from above, Baxter's reaction is to turn to his right, yet on the next shot we see him turning to his left.
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When Driscoll steps in the camel manure below decks, the following shot just after he wipes off his shoe shows a clean floor with no piles or patches of manure.
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After the scene with the Brachiosaurus, Mike has a conversation with the main character, Jack Driscoll. During the conversation, the rope on Mike's shoulder disappears.
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After forbidding Jimmy to join the search party for Ann, Hayes discovers Jimmy with the party by pulling off Jimmy's hood with his right hand. But, on the next shot, Jimmy's hood is pulled off by Hayes' left hand.
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When you first see Ann is sound asleep in Kong's arms she's facing right but when they zoom in she's facing left.
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Ann's clothing changes throughout the period on the island when Kong has her; a narrow camisole-strap, a wide flat white shoulder-strap, or the untorn collar/shoulder fabric of her dress are randomly present on her shoulder at various times, and the condition of her clothing changes in how tattered and/or removed it is between shots.
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As the ship is leaving its dock in New York the captain orders "both ahead dead slow". This indicates that the ship had two engines and two screws; however, every shot showing the stern of the ship has a propeller wash coming only from the center of the ship, showing that it has just a single screw.
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Factual errors
During the entire scene on top of the Empire State building, the sun is at least ten times bigger than normal.
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When Jack Driscoll goes up in the Empire State Building elevator, he watches an old-fashioned dial-and-arrow indicator as it sweeps upward through the floor numbers, from "1" to "101". However, the building's structure does not allow for direct elevators from street level to the very top. The metallic tower topping the limestone façade above the 86th floor observation deck is served by only one small elevator shaft and one narrow staircase - that's all that will fit. A change of elevator is necessary on or about the 86th floor for anyone going to the very top. Also, the top floor is officially "102", not "101".
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Plot holes
While discussing bringing Kong back to America in the ship's hold for fame and profit, not one person even mentions or considers bringing back a living dinosaur.
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Revealing mistakes
When leaving New York, a 360 degrees shot is taken of the boat by night. However, the shape of the plume of smoke coming from the chimney does not change with the camera's point of view.
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At the very beginning of the film, during Al Jolson's song, the camera looks down on a bridge with lots of cars passing it. On the right side of screen, an animated plume of smoke from a chimney is frozen - on the left side animation is working correctly.
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When Ann "meets" Kong for the first time she is bound securely with some very large pieces rope around her wrists. Kong hoists her up her waist, snapping the ropes very easily. Given the size of the rope this would more than likely rip her arms completely off (or cause her serious injury). (Unless the natives were really bad at knot tying.)
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Undoubtedly to save costs in computer animation, nearly all the cars in the New York City street scenes are Model 'A' Fords.
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During his New York rampage, Kong slams his fists full force on the roof of a trolley car - and does absolutely no damage.
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Spoilers
Anachronisms
At the end the soldiers are using M1 Garand Rifles. These rifles were not adopted by the military till 1936. The M 1903 rifle would be the one they would be using.Share this
Continuity
Just before Kong falls from the Empire State Building, Ann Darrow is seen lying next to him with her shoes off. As he plunges to his death, she stands up and is wearing her heels again.Share this
Continuity
When Kong is on top of the Empire State building, and is shot by one of the bi-planes, you can clearly see two bullet holes and blood coming from his chest. The wound immediately disappears.Share this
Continuity
When Kong falls off the Empire State Building at the end, the ladder on the side of the Empire State Building's dome is in front of Ann, below Kong's chin. But when Kong falls off we cut to a rotating shot from above as Kong falls down, and the ladder is gone. Then Jack climbs up the ladder behind Ann.Share this
