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Ann-Margret, Janet Leigh, Dick Van Dyke, Jesse Pearson, and Bobby Rydell in Bye Bye Birdie (1963)

Goofs

Bye Bye Birdie

Edit

Continuity

After Rosie pulls the McAfee family out of the audience at The Ed Sullivan Show (1948), two different shots of the Russian conductor show the McAfees still sitting in the audience.
When Rosie pulls the Shriners under the table, she comes up wearing all their hats, but they still have their hats on when they emerge.
When Rosie originally confronts the Shriners, she twirls her shawl and tangles her hands in the ends. Viewed from the side, her hands are untangled and the shawl hangs freely at her sides.
After singing the final line of "One Boy," Rosie sits down on the balcony steps and wraps her arms around a support post. As the camera pulls away near a tree branch, the film cuts to a different take and Rosie's hands aren't in the same position as they were a split second before.
As the tortoise is placed on the rocking chair, the chair begin to rock slightly. A moment later, the chair is motionless.

Factual errors

The sheet music prop for "Mumbo Jumbo Gooey Gumbo" that Albert holds in the first scene is printed incorrectly. The title page is actually on the back of the booklet instead of the front.
During Birdie's rehearsal in the gym he and his band are shown playing electric guitars, but the soundtrack features only one acoustic guitar.

Incorrectly regarded as goofs

At age 33, Jesse Pearson (Conrad Birdie) is about ten years too old to be have been drafted into the army at this time. At age 22, Ann-Margret (Kim McAfee) is the right age for a college senior, but four years too old for a high school senior. Dick Van Dyke was born the same year as Maureen Stapleton, who plays his mother.

It's common for actors to portray characters who are different ages than they are in real life. While Ann-Margret may have been too old to be a high school student, the character of Kim McAfee was not because she is fictional and the age of the actor playing her is irrelevant.
Birdie has never been pronounced "bird-he" as Kim McAfee (Ann-Margret) does in her song.

Ann-Margret pronouncing the name this way is part of the cadence of the song she is performing.

Revealing mistakes

In the long pan shot of the town square after Birdie sings "Honestly Sincere", a single "fainted" dancer sits up to see if the shot is over and then quickly flops back down again.
The turtle that zooms off a table and out a door is clearly a prop mounted on top of a dolly several inches thick that holds the turtle above the table and floor. The prop must have wheels as it slides so smoothly across the floor.
There are no wires from either Conrad's Fender guitar or the other guitarists.

Crew or equipment visible

When the turtle accelerates up some steps and out of an open door, a clear ramp can be seen over the steps that allowed the turtle prop to slide cleanly up and out.
After Albert gives the pet turtle the initial version of the "Speed-Up" drug and the turtle speeds across the floor, then up the steps to the front door, reflections of the teens entering the door can be seen in the glass plate that they used to allow the turtle to get up the stairs.

Boom mic visible

Following the song "One Boy" Hugo tells Kim he has homework to do. As the camera pulls back the shadow of the boom mic can be seen on the ground.

Character error

Kim McAfee is described as a teenager, but Ann-Margret was 22 years old when she played this role and looks nothing like a teenager.

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Ann-Margret, Janet Leigh, Dick Van Dyke, Jesse Pearson, and Bobby Rydell in Bye Bye Birdie (1963)
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What is the Brazilian Portuguese language plot outline for Bye Bye Birdie (1963)?
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