Goofs for
Valkyrie (2008) More at IMDbPro »

• Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Colonel von Stauffenberg and his wife have very dark hair, yet their children have blond hair. The gene for blond hair is generally recessive, so if both parents are carriers, each child has a 25% chance of having blond hair. Additionally, some of the real Stauffenberg children had blond hair.
  
  
• Factual errors: Hermann Goering is not wearing his "Blue Max" WWI medal. It should have been around his neck, with his Grand Cross. Another character ('Pompous General') is correctly shown wearing his Blue Max.
  
  
• Factual errors: When von Stauffenberg is recruited in the church, the camera pans up to show the bombed-out ceiling. Nuns and priests removed the stained glass windows from churches and buried them outside cities before the Allied forces began bombing Germany. If the ceiling was bombed out, the stained glass windows shouldn't be there.
  
  

• Revealing mistakes: Colonel von Stauffenberg travels to and from secret meetings with Hitler in a Mercedes-Benz convertible. If you look closely at the front chrome grill, you can clearly see shiny outlines of various emblems that were removed prior to filming. The emblems are placed on Mercedes-Benz cars by their owners to indicate milestones in mileage, etc. They would never have been on a Nazi car.
  
  
• Factual errors: The building the German army barricades in Berlin is identified as the Ministry of Interior. In was actually the Reich Air Ministry. Today, it is the German Finance Ministry.
  
  
• Continuity: When von Stauffenberg changes in the room before setting the bomb, the cut on his neck disappears when he exits.
  
  
• Factual errors: The aircraft Hitler rides, and which the plotters attempt to blow up, is a Ju-52 trimotor. In reality, Hitler's aircraft at the time was the four-engined FW-200 "Condor." None survived, so they couldn't be used for filming.
  
  
• Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Stauffenberg's left eye that is damaged. At one point when he is shaving, the patch is over his right eye. The camera is looking into a mirror.
  
  
• Factual errors: The scene at the Berlin Tempelhof Airport shows a Junkers 52 transport outside on the ramp, and a Messerschmitt 109 inside the hangar. The Messerschmitt appears to be a Spanish-built CASA, with an upright V British Merlin V-12 engine. Real Messerschmits had an inverted V Daimler-Benz engine. Very few airworthy examples of the Me-109 remain. The CASA type shown, which was flown at the 2008 Duxford Airshow, is fitted with a British Merlin engine.
  
  
• Incorrectly regarded as goofs: In one shot, when von Stauffenberg is showing Hitler the updated Valkyrie plan, he looks down with both eyes. His left eye is glass, but prosthetic eyes are fitted against the muscles, so they can move.
  
  
• Continuity: Shortly after the bombing attempt against Hitler, Col von Stauffenberg is standing in an office at the Ministry and the camera pulls out to reveal both hands intact, including all his fingers. He is supposed to have lost one of his hands and 2 fingers off his other hand.
  
  
• Factual errors: Henning von Tresckow delivers the Cointreau bomb to Colonel Brandt at the aircraft, and later retrieves it from HQ in Berlin. According to 'Offiziere Gegen Hitler', Tresckow's deputy, Fabian von Schlabrendorff, did both in real life.
  
  
• Incorrectly regarded as goofs: In the film, Hitler signs his name with his right hand. Hitler was ambidextrous.
  
  
• Factual errors: The Berlin Reserve are called out twice to contain the district as per the orders of "Operation Valkyrie". In all the shots, they are wearing full combat field kit. As garrisoned troops, they would only take their ammunition pouches, bayonet, and gas mask. They would also wear steel helmets, though officers could wear their field caps.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: Stauffenberg is shown shaving on the morning of the final assassination attempt. However, the close-up shots reveal that he is already clean-shaven.
  
  
• Incorrectly regarded as goofs: A banner in the movie that says 'Führer befiehl, wir folgen dir.' is correct. "Befiehl" is the imperative of the 2nd person singular of "befehlen".
  
  
• Continuity: After Stauffenberg shaves on the morning of the final assassination attempt and cuts himself, some blood drips on his shirt. As he gets into a car in the next scene, the blood is not there, but reappears when he arrives at the Wolf's lair.
  
  
• Errors in geography: Stauffenberg and his adjunct are shown being driven on their way to have the new version of Walküre signed by Hitler. There is a panoramic view of the exterior of the Berghof (Hitler's private residence). It is shown situated on the extreme top of a hill with large mountains (the alps a kilometer away in the distance, but nothing directly behind it. In reality the Berghof was built onto the side of a hill and not the direct top. In any period photograph of the Berghof you will clearly see the hill continues to ascend behind the building and there was a thick forest of trees behind it as well (covering the hill well above the height of the Berghof's roof). In the film no trees are shown behind the main building and it is shown to basically stand on it's on on the top of a hill.
  
  
• Factual errors: In the ensuing gunfight at the Bendlerblock (Headquarters of the Army) Stauffenberg was hit in the arm, when in actuality he was shot in the shoulder.
  
  
• Factual errors: The officer in charge of the firing squad never gives the order to fire when Lt. Haeften is shot.
  
  
• Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Tom Cruise's character is speaking with another character, he looks at the portrait of Hitler hanging on the wall and says "At the end of this the portrait will be unhung, and a man will be hung." In reality, a man would be hanged and never hung.
  
  
• Incorrectly regarded as goofs: The P-40's that attack the Germans in the beginning of the movie have the Flying Tiger teeth painted on them. The Flying Tigers were based in China during WWII. However, shark mouth was often used on the P-40 by other units, such as 112 squadron RAF - not just by the Flying Tigers; P-40's in the movie in fact clearly have the correct British camouflage for North Africa.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: As Hitler crosses the room to receive the new Valkyrie plan from Stauffenberg the upper part of his shadow advances faster than he does. This must be caused by an artificial light source outside the window, rather than what otherwise appears to be sunlight.
  
  
• Factual errors: In the ensuing gunfight at the Bendlerblock (Headquarters of the Army) Stauffenberg was actually wearing his white summer uniform jacket, not the Wehrmacht (Army) uniform as shown in the movie.
  
  
• Errors in geography: As Hitler and party arrive by air to Smolensk in Russia, in March 1943, the camera pans upon a vast green forest with not a trace of snow. March in this part of Russia is a quagmire of melting snow, ice and mud.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: The P-40s that attack the Germans in the beginning of the movie do not have any rockets or bombs and neither do any of them fire their machine guns that caused the first explosion that killed the general and blew Stauffenburg off his feet. There just seemed to be an explosion when the fighters came up behind the Germans and nothing caused it.
  
  
• Incorrectly regarded as goofs: When General Tresckow last speaks to Colonel Stauffenberg, he says that "God promised Abraham if he found just ten faithful men, he would spare Sodom". Even though Lot not Abraham is the name most commonly associated with the story of Sodom, in Genesis 18:22-33 the referenced conversation takes place between Abraham and God.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: In a long shot of Tom Cruise and Kenneth Branagh it is clear Cruise is wearing a pair of big shoes to boost his height.
  
  
• Factual errors: On the day of the attempt at Rastenburg, von Stauffenberg managed to get through Security Zone II with his briefcase containing the explosives without problems. He knew however that on entering the inner Security Zone I, all personnel except Hitler's inner circle were thoroughly searched, as a precaution against assassination attempts. In order to avoid it von Stauffenberg arranged so that he entered the Zone with Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel - an officer in Keitel's company would not be searched.
  
  
• Continuity: When Hitler is flying into Smolensk, his plane has D-2600 and a black stripe painted on the wing. However, in the shot of the final approach to the runway (view from behind), the plane is devoid of these markings. They return once the plane is on the ground.
  
  
• Continuity: When Stauffenberg hands Hitler the revised version of operation Valkyrie, Hitler grabs the folder with his right hand and in the next shot he is holding it in his left hand.
  
  
• Continuity: In the scene where Colonel von Stauffenberg is in the hospital after being wounded in Africa we see him giving wounded soldiers medals. On the one medal we see him place you see the indentation from the medal before it has been placed on the lapel.
  
  
• Incorrectly regarded as goofs: In a number of scenes, Colonel Stauffenberg is seen wearing crimson stripes on his trouser legs, which are mistakenly believed to be red stripes worn only by German Generals; however, crimson stripes were worn by all German General Staff officers below the rank of General.
  
  
• Factual errors: The credits say there were 15 attempts to kill Hitler, in fact there were 42 attempts. In addition, the final known plot was planned by Albert Speer shortly before the fall of Berlin. He considered flooding Hitler's bunker with poisonous gas, but his loyalty kept him from following through.
  
  
• Continuity: When Von Stauffenburg meets his family for the first time after the accident, when he kisses his wife you can see his nose, but in the next shot he is in the other side.
  
  
• Factual errors: Throughout the movie, men are shown doing the official German Greeting of "Heil Hitler" with their arms outstretched. However, in the time leading up to the July 20 plot, this salute was only used sparingly. It was after Hitler survived the plot (in effect July 24) that Hermann Goering, in a show of loyalty, replaced the standard military salute with the "Heil Hitler" salute.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: During the executions no bullet impacts are seen in the sand bank behind the victims having passed easily through the bodies at such short range.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: During the shootout in the building corridors, prior to the arrests, no ejected cartridge cases can be heard tinkling on the hard stone floors.
  
  
• Continuity: When Stauffenberg flies back to Berlin the tailsign of the Ju52 is BT-A? when he enters it. During the flight it is DI-AY and after touchdown in Berlin it is BT-A? again.
  
  
• Continuity: When Stauffenberg is being driven through the forest to his first meeting with Hitler, the date and time appear several times, and the time is around noon. However, the shadows are far longer than they should be for that time of day.
  
  
• Factual errors: The aerial forest photos shot near and around the 'Wolf's Lair' obviously shows 'tree farms' (trees are all planted in a row). In 1944 there might have been Christmas tree farms but there were no 'logging' tree farms.
  
  
• Factual errors: Ludwig Beck did not succeed in killing himself as is shown in the film. His first shot grazed his temple. Fromm gave him time to "collect himself" before he tried again. His second attempt also failed, so another officer ended up finishing him off.
  
  
• Factual errors: Ludwig Beck was not wearing civilian clothes on July 20th. He had put on his military uniform for the first time in 6 years when the plot went into operation.
  
  
• Factual errors: The planes in the beginning of the movie are supposed to be P-40s. They are, in fact, Hawker Typhoons.
  
  
• Continuity: Prior to meeting Hitler, Stauffenberg is shown with brown eyes, yet the glass eye shown is blue.
  
  

• Incorrectly regarded as goofs: SPOILER: Just before Stauffenberg is shot, Lieutenant Werner von Haeften jumps in front to shield him from the bullets and dies instead. While the powerful Karabiner 98 Kurz rifle that the execution squad is using can easily fire a bullet straight through the body of von Haeften, with more than enough momentum to kill von Stauffenberg, this scene is a true depiction of the event.
  
  
• Continuity: SPOILER: When General Olbricht is executed, mud from an earlier take can be seen on his uniform trousers just before he falls to the ground.
  
  
• Continuity: SPOILER: It seems odd that with at least 3 men being shot before Stauffenberg and Haeften that there is not a single drop of blood on the ground. Even as Haeften is being carried off there is not even a small patch where he should have bleed out after being shot with 6-10 rifles. This is especially evident as Stauffenberg is being shot when the camera moves to an aerial view of the execution grounds.
  
  

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