1776

1776 (1972)

6 mistakes

(1 vote)

Factual error: The Liberty Bell is depicted ringing as the Declaration of Independence is being signed on July 4 (a mistake itself) in the film. The bell actually did not ring on that date, but on July 8, when the Declaration had been returned from the printer and unveiled to the public.

jayo

Continuity mistake: Near the end of "The Lees of Old Virginia," Richard Henry Lee is seated on a water fountain, and then stands up. In the following shot from behind, he is back on the fountain and stands up again.

Cubs Fan

Deliberate mistake: In the film, Martha Jefferson visits Thomas in Philadelphia. While this is factually inaccurate (she was actually at home recovering from a miscarriage), it was changed for the sake of drama.

Cubs Fan

Continuity mistake: Look very closely when Mr. Thomson is taking the vote by a show of hands on whether or not to make the vote on independence unanimous. Of the delegates who say nay, Thomson points to the direction of Adams first, however, Hopkins is the first delegate shown. Thomson points to the direction of Hopkins last, but Adams is the last delegate shown. Maybe this part was reversed, or the filmmakers screwed up.

Visible crew/equipment: At the end of 'Sit Down John' as Adams is walking out of the Assembly Room, you can see a crew light reflected in the tally/vote board behind him. It's also rather bright in a room, at night, that is only supposed to be lit by candles.

Factual error: During "The Lees of Old Virginia", Richard Henry Lee refers to Harry Lee as "Lighthorse Harry Lee". Harry didn't earn that nickname until 1778.

Cubs Fan

[After hearing Dickinson bang on a desk.]
Benjamin Franklin: Please, Mr. Dickinson, but must you start banging? How is a man to sleep?
John Dickinson: Forgive me, Doctor Franklin, but must you start speaking? How is a man to stay awake?
John Dickinson: We'll promise to be quiet, sir. I'm sure everyone prefers that you remain asleep.
Benjamin Franklin: If I'm to hear myself called an Englishman, sir, I assure I prefer I'd remained asleep.
John Dickinson: What's so terrible about being called an Englishman? The English don't seem to mind.
Benjamin Franklin: Nor would I, were I given the full rights of an Englishman. But to call me one without those rights is like calling an ox a bull. He's thankful for the honor, but he'd much rather have restored what's rightfully his.
John Dickinson: When did you first notice they were missing, sir?

More quotes from 1776

Trivia: During the filming of "Piddle, Twiddle, and Resolve", William Daniels sucked on ice cubes, as not to give away the fact that the night was freezing cold, rather than a warm Philadelphia evening.

More trivia for 1776

Question: During "Cool, Considerate Men," what does John Hancock mean by "British half-crown" when he says, ". . . traitors to what? The British crown, or the British half-crown"?

Cubs Fan

Chosen answer: By "the British Crown" he meant the king. By "the British half Crown" he was just referring to the money in use by the British at the time.

papajim

Exactly contrasting loyalty to the country with loyalty to profit.

More questions & answers from 1776

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.