Goofs for
Patton (1970) More at IMDbPro »

• Anachronisms: 1948 Packard car in front of headquarters.
  
  
• Continuity: When Gen Fredendall is leaving II Corps headquarters after being relieved by Gen Patton, his jeep passes Patton's command car where two soldiers are replacing the two star plate with a three star plate. In a following scene when Patton visits an ancient Carthegenian battlefield, there is a two star plate on his command car.
  
  
• Anachronisms: In the Moroccan Parade scene, the submachine guns carried by the soldiers are MAT-49s, adopted by the French Army in 1950.
  
  

• Anachronisms: The tanks used in the major battle scene in North Africa are post-war tanks. On the German side the M48 tank (1953) was used and on the American side the M47 (1952). Ironically, both tank types were named "Patton."
  
  
• Factual errors: The prayer for good weather was actually put on the back of a small Christmas card that was printed for the troops on December 11th, five days before the Battle of the Bulge began. The actual prayer contained the words "these immoderate rains" while the movie version said "this immoderate weather."
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: In the scene following Patton's speech, a child is trying to steal a dead soldier's wedding ring. As he goes about this, the soldier's shoulder/arm muscles twitch visibly in reaction to the scorpions climbing on him. His head and eyelids can also be seen moving several times.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: As Patton is viewing the battlefield through binoculars and facing the camera, various lights/booms etc are clearly reflected in the binocular lenses.
  
  
• Anachronisms: Germany is already divided to East and West Germany in the map of Europe seen in the headquarters, and all other national borders are post WWII.
  
  
• Factual errors: When Field Marshal Montgomery is informed that Patton has taken Palermo in Sicily, the British flag beside him is hung upside down.
  
  
• Continuity: When Patton learns he has been relieved of command of the 7th Army, Willie "George" Meeks escorts Patton's aide while wearing Staff Sergeant's stripes. In a later scene when Meeks is waiting for Patton to prepare for bed, Meeks is wearing the stripes of a Sergeant.
  
  
• Continuity: A German soldier writing down the number of casualties is shown marking the thousands with commas, as usual in English. Later, the same soldier is shown using periods for thousands, as a German would.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: The extreme close-up of Patton's eyebrows in the opening scene shows the mesh netting of the fake eyebrows.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: As we see the local spectators during the Moroccan military parade, one little boy keeps making faces and waving into the camera in every shot.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: In the first battle of the film, a high angle long-shot shows a German soldier following a tank who falls forward from the shock of an explosion that happens behind him. But he falls shortly before the blast.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: When Patton is directing traffic in the muddy field, one of the tanks that is coming toward the camera is driven by a man wearing civilian clothes and a beret.
  
  
• Continuity: In Palermo, Patton climbs some steps to meet with the local Cardinal. As Patton starts up the steps, guards on those steps stand at attention and salute. In the next shot, as Patton kisses the Cardinal's ring, the guards are in the "at-ease" position.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: During the first major battle in North Africa, the track marks from the German tank that overruns the infantry unit only start from 20 feet behind the tank.
  
  
• Continuity: When Patton tries to convince Maj. Gen. Lucian K. Truscott to launch an amphibious attack against the Germans, the bench on which he's reclining is flush against the wall. In the reverse-angle shots over Patton's shoulder, the entire back of the bench is visible as if it's several feet from the wall.
  
  
• Factual errors: Patton is shown having read a book, "The Tank in Battle", by his adversary, Erwin Rommel. The book "Panzer greift an" was however never finished by Rommel. Most of what was to be in "The Tank in Attack" (which is the correct translation of the German title) can be found in the book The Rommel Papers, which is made from notes and diary entries by Field Marshal Rommel during the Africa campaign.
  
  
• Continuity: When Patton talks with noncommissioned officers about Montgomery's campaign in Sicily, he has a magnifying glass in his left hand and a cup in his right. He sets down the magnifying glass to hold the cup with his left hand to put it on the table. In the next shot the cup is already on the table and he is holding the magnifying glass with the left hand.
  
  
• Factual errors: During the first battle scene Patton oversees, he uses a pair of binoculars clearly marked "JAPAN".
  
  
• Anachronisms: The German He-111 bombers that attack during the early battle scenes of the film were not equipped for the types of missions portrayed. These bombers were high-altitude level bombers and not dedicated ground attack aircraft. The German Luftwaffe would most likely have used Messerschmitt 109 fighters, Junkers Ju-88 bombers, or Junkers Ju-87 "Stuka" Tank killers for these missions.
  
  
• Factual errors: Early in the movie (after the Battle for the Kasserine Pass), it is mentioned that U.S. tanks used gasoline, the Germans used diesel. In fact all of Germany's World War II tanks used gasoline (petrol) except for some prototypes.
  
  
• Factual errors: This movie makes use of the real WWII Jeeps - the MB, GPW; manufactured by Willys & Ford from 1941 - 1945 as well as the first civilian Jeep vehicle, the CJ-2A produced in 1945. The CJ came with a tailgate, side-mounted spare tire, larger headlights, an external fuel cap and many more items that its military predecessors did not include. This "goof" is common in WWII movies.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: When General Bedell Smith and Monty are discussing Sicily in the latrine, the shadow of the cameraman is seen behind Smith.
  
  
• Anachronisms: In the scene with the Russians, where they dance and Patton skates very close to open insults, the camera pans the scene from behind the orchestra. At least one of the guitars being played seems to be of a type/style that was not developed until the 1950s.
  
  
• Factual errors: When General Walter Bedell Smith meets with General Patton upon the latter's arrival in London, Smith is wearing what is supposed to be the S.H.A.E.F. (Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces) shoulder patch. He is in fact wearing the US Army Europe patch which came out after WW II and is almost exactly the same in design, except the background of the S.H.A.E.F. patch is black and the U.S. Army Europe patch has a blue background.
  
  
• Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Visiting the Carthaginian ancient battle field in Tunisia, Patton says, "The Arab women stripped the dead soldiers of their clothing." There were no Arabs in Tunisia during the Punic wars.
  
  
• Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Patton quotes Frederick the Great as saying, "L'audace, l'audace. Toujours l'audace!" Historians attribute this quote to the French revolutionary Danton.
  
  
• Miscellaneous: As Bradley and his aides inspect the Kasserine battlefield, an officer shoots two vultures with his Thompson sub-machine gun. The shots are so close together that the weapon must be firing on full automatic. This would be a virtually impossible feat of marksmanship with this type of weapon.
  
  
• Anachronisms: One of the planes seen in the film is a Cessna L-19 Bird Dog, which first flew in 1950.
  
  
• Factual errors: In the scene where Patton visits Bradley's Command Post in Normandy, France, he delivers a line of dialogue that says Hitler's own people tried to kill him just a few days ago. This would place the timeline of this meeting just after July 20, 1944 (the day of the actual assassination attempt on Hitler), but before July 25, 1944 (The start of the Allied Cobra operation) which was also discussed at this meeting. Immediately after this scene, there is a cut to a German Command bunker where Rommel is complaining that his men are being slaughtered in Normandy. The timeline of this latter scene is in error as Rommel, by this time, was severely wounded by an Allied fighter attack plane on July 17, 1944 and very much out-of-the-action from this day onwards.
  
  
• Incorrectly regarded as goofs: In the opening scene where Patton is addressing troops in front of the giant flag he has the four stars of a full general on his helmet, a rank he did not attain until the last month of the war in Europe. Therefore many assume that his address, which was for the benefit of green troops about to enter combat for the first time, would have been delivered when he was at a lower rank of major general or lieutenant general. However, this speech is a composite of several different speeches he delivered throughout the war to units of different sizes and command levels. While much of his speech in the opening of film was extracted from one particular speech he gave to various units in the Spring of 1944 just prior to D-Day, it does not actually represent any specific speech within any particular time frame. The producers actually considered inserting it at the end of the Intermission.
  
  
• Factual errors: When Patton arrives in Malta, he makes a speech about the Great Siege of Malta, involving the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. However, he puts the date of this defence as 1528. In fact, the siege took place in 1565 - indeed, the Knights were not granted Malta and Tripoli by Charles V of Spain until 1530. He also gives the figure for the number of defenders as 400 Knights with 800 mercenaries when in fact the accepted number is nearer 9000 in total (including Maltese militia). 40,000 attackers is the highest level of the accepted estimates and the more realistic figure is most likely around 25-30,000.
  
  
• Factual errors: Gen. Lloyd Fredendall is shown leaving Le Kouif after Patton's arrival at the headquarters. In fact, Fredendall left Le Kouif at 3:30 AM, hours before Patton's arrival. Likewise, Fredendall left in a Buick rather than a Jeep as shown.
  
  
• Miscellaneous: In the scene where the German generals watch the captured newsreel footage of Patton and Bradley landing on Sicily, their dialogue is translated falsely in the subtitles - at no time do they call Patton a 'gangster'. The expression might however be meant as an attempt to convey the impression that Patton's big cigar might leave with German officers.
  
  
• Factual errors: At 2:08:46 in the movie, during the congestion at a crossroads there is a close up of the chaos. A soldier with rolled up sleeves can be seen standing on the hood and fender of a Command Car number 378(?)554 holding what appears to be an M-14 Rifle. This weapon is visibly similar to the M1 Carbine used in WWII except that it is bulkier, the sling is attached to the bottom of the butt with a swivel, and the magazine is larger than that of the M1 Carbine due to the longer ammunition it uses. The M-14 came into use in the 1950's, and not during WWII.
  
  
• Factual errors: "Soon after D-Day"(which was June 6, 1944), Patton gets on a plane bound for France to see Bradley in Normandy, France, supposedly on an urgent basis. When he sees Bradley at the latter's Command Post, he utters "Hitler's own people tried to kill him just a few days ago!" This would place the time line of this meeting just after July 20, 1944 (the day of the actual assassination attempt on Hitler). This means almost a month had passed before Patton saw Bradley.
  
  
• Factual errors: At Bradley's Command Post in Normandy, France, when Bradley shows Patton the plan for Operation Cobra, Patton says "What you need for this operation is a screw-ball commander like me," to which Bradley agrees, saying "Ike came to same conclusion long time ago." However it was Bradley, not Patton, who actually directed Operation Cobra.
  
  
• Factual errors: During the scene at Messina, the drum major gives the command: "Forward, March!" which is incorrect. All pipe band commands follow the British model and the correct command would be: "By the right, Quick March!"
  
  
• Factual errors: When the British troops parade into Messina, a sign in Italian can be seen on the wall saying "Benvenutti amici a Messina", with a spelling error (it should read "Benvenuti"). However possible, it is highly unlikely that such an error would be made by native speakers.
  
  
• Continuity: After taking command and being promoted to a 3 Star General you see his adjutant changing the front of his jeep to 3 stars. Yet in a subsequent shot, shortly before he visits the ancient battlefield his jeep only shows 2 stars.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: When the bagpipe band marches in and discovers the Americans waiting for them, the drum major abruptly orders them to stop playing, which they do, instantly and without moving. In order to stop instantly, pipers need advanced warning so they can stop inflating the bags and play solely on the air inside. This way, when the order to stop comes, they can stop pressing on the bag, and lift it abruptly to their shoulders to cut off all air flow through the reeds. It is impossible for them to stop on such short notice, especially without lifting their pipes, as was portrayed in the film. As portrayed, there would have been several seconds of noise as the pressure dropped and the drones "wound down."
  
  
• Factual errors: Early in the film when the planes are attacking, Patton runs outside and stands in the street armed with is Colt .45 and fires 12 shots without reloading. 8 shots at the most is possible: 7 in the magazine and one in the chamber.
  
  
• Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Jet stream or plume above Patton and Bradley at the tank crossing in Francie - seen in several frames is a claimed anachronism. However, water vapor condensing from the exhaust of both piston and jet engines can cause condensation trails ("contrails"), which were a common sight over Europe.
  
  
• Factual errors: During the discussion with the British Leadership prior to the invasion of Sicily (where Patton advocates his army land at Syracuse), Patton and his staff are wearing the arm patch of the 1st Armoured Division, which Patton commanded in Morocco. The actual timing of this meeting is unknown, but at this time Patton should have been in command of either the 2nd Corps, or the 7th Army, not the 1st Armoured division.
  
  
• Errors in geography: During Patton's arrival to his new assignment in the beginning of the movie, the locals get closer to his vehicle offering chickens. The women are saying "Oiga, oiga," "gallinas", which is Spanish for "listen, listen," "chickens". It's difficult to believe that people in North Africa would be speaking Spanish to sell chickens.
  
  
• Factual errors: When the HE-111's are attacking, Patton pulls out his 1903 or 1908 Colt General Officer's Model Pistol . ( General Officer's had their choice of a 1903 in .32 ACP or a 1908 in .380 ACP ). The .32 ACP verision holds 7 rounds in the magazine and 1 in the chamber . The 1908 model holds 6 rounds in the magazine and 1 in the chamber . Other than that , the pistols are identical . and fires 9 shots without reloading and that is impossible for a Colt Officer's Model .
  
  
• Factual errors: In the movie, Patton refers to himself as a Lieutenant (3-star) General before the confirmation became official. In reality, according to his service record, he only referred to himself by that rank after he signed his official commission paperwork.
  
  
• Factual errors: While discussing the aftermath of the Battle of the Kasserine Pass, a remark is made about the German tanks being powered by diesel. All the German tanks used in the actual battle were powered by gasoline (petrol).
  
  
• Anachronisms: Some of the U.S. vehicles in the North Africa and Sicily scenes are shown with the insignia of a white star within a circle. The circle was not added until just before the invasion of mainland Italy in September 1943.
  
  
• Factual errors: When Patton is in trouble for slapping a soldier, he is being shuttled around the Mediterranean as a decoy. In response to Patton's movements, German General Jodl orders troops to Greece. He says on the phone, "Let the Italians garrison Italy. It's their country." This supposed conversation takes place after New Year in January, 1944. Italy surrendered in September 1943.
  
  

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