When Vole first meets Wilfrid in his office, he refuses to take the case and puts his wig in its container, closes it, and the lid is noticeably 6 inches from totally closed. The next time the container is seen, it is completely closed.
As Sir Wilfrid is cross-examining the Chief Inspector, his monocle chain is over his right collar tab; after a shot from behind, the chain is running under the tab so that when he raises the monocle, it lifts the tab up to his chin.
Early in the courtroom scenes, witnesses are seated in the hallway outside the courtroom door on a bench. This has a backdrop painted to look like a longer hallway. At the end of the trial, when the courtroom is emptied, the hallway is shown as being narrower with no bench.
When Sir Wilfrid gives the "monocle test" to Vole, the sun is behind him. The monocle cannot reflect the sunlight from behind. Correctly, when he gives the monocle test to Christine, he is facing the sunny window. She closes the shade to block the sunlight reflecting off the monocle.
The witness Janet MacKenzie testified that October the 14 was a Friday. The film is set in 1952; if the year of the murder was 1952, October 14 was a Tuesday or if 1951, October the 14 was a Sunday. The last year October 14 was on a Friday before 1952 was 1949.
When Sir Wilfrid conducts the "monocle test", it is clearly a flat piece of glass and, thus, would not serve as a corrective lens.
(at around 9 mins) Inside his chamber, Sir Wilfrid lights his cigar, and Leonard Vole locks the door to make sure that Miss Plimsoll can't enter the room and catch him smoking. Later (at around 15 mins), Wilfrid leaves his chamber without first unlocking the door.
Actually, Vole does not lock the door, but puts the keyhole cover in place to stop Plimsoll spying through the keyhole.
Actually, Vole does not lock the door, but puts the keyhole cover in place to stop Plimsoll spying through the keyhole.
In the first courtroom scene, the clerk twice states that the murder of Emily Jane French occurred in "the county of London". The County of London was known to both Sherlock Holmes and Horace Rumpole. It was run by the London County Council from 1889-1965, was comprised of over two dozen boroughs (Hampstead to Greenwich to Chelsea), and much to Leonard Vole's chagrin, was home to the Central Criminal Courts, the Old Bailey. In 1965, the County of London became the larger, Greater London, which it still is. Administered by the Greater London Council from 1965-86, it has been run since 2000 by the Greater London Authority, headed by a directly-elected mayor and assembly. For reasons of tradition and vested interest, the old City of London, now a square mile of banks, brokerage houses and the Tower, remains a separate entity.
When Vole, in his cell, starts relating the story of how he and Christine met, the scene dissolves into a flashback while Vole is speaking. As it begins to dissolve, Vole, still visible, has stopped talking although his voice-over continues its narration.
However, this is not a goof but a cinematographic technique.
However, this is not a goof but a cinematographic technique.
When the fight breaks out in the nightclub, the military police are there within 30 seconds, suggesting that they were waiting around the corner. In addition, they have the club cleared, and the suspects removed in less than a minute.
When the photographer takes the pictures of Leonard Vole in the prison, he takes one from the front view and one from Voles right side. Later in the courtroom, the prosecutor Mr. Myers shows these pictures to Leonard Vole in the witness stand. Now there is one from the front sight and one from his left side. It is hard to believe that a professional photographer in a murder case would make such a serious mistake to twist the negative mirror inverted. It looks more like a mistake of the prop master.
Though made in 1957, the film takes place in 1952, but in the opening shots of Sir Wilfrid's car on the streets of London (and in the rear-projection shots in the car's interior), several post-1952 cars can be seen in the background.
In Sir Wilfrid's "London" law firm office, there is an American-style telephone visible on a table behind his desk.
When they receive a phone call from the "witness", there is an American-made Western Electric "Model 500" Key System phone in the background.
The knife, being material evidence, would not be left lying on the table unattended after the case is closed and everyone has left the courtroom.
Whilst the story is set in London, the script contains several Americanisms such as "cot" for bed, "banana peel" for banana skin, "travel bureau" for travel agents, "roll up" for open, "movie" for film and "Scotch" for Scottish. Whilst some may be intentional, it is odd that Sir Wilfrid or Mrs French would use such colloquialisms. Conversely the US-accented Leonard uses the correct UK "quid" with reference to money.
Both Sir Wilfrid and Mr. Myers introduce evidence directly to the court themselves, which is against courtroom procedure. Sir Wilfrid, for example, trumps Inspector Hearne's testimony by directly revealing Leonard Vole's blood type, instead of properly calling a witness with personal or professional knowledge of it.
On the witness stand, Janet MacKenzie refers to October 8 as being one week to the day before October 14 (the night of the murder). It's only six days earlier.