Goofs for
Doubt (2008/I) More at IMDbPro »

• Anachronisms: While the film was set in 1964, the setting of "Ubi Caritas" sung by the choir during one of Fr. Flynn's sermons was written in 1979 by Jacques Berthier for the Taize community.
  
  
• Continuity: During the conversation between Sister Aloysius and Mrs Miller the umbrella handle in the sister's hands changes positions numerous times, including the handle switching left to right and cuffed on the sister's arm at one point.
  
  
• Continuity: During the conference in the Principal's office, the door is left ajar. The amount of space between the door and and jamb varies from take to take.
  
  

• Continuity: As Father Flynn sits alone in Sister Aloysius' office after their final confrontation, he handles his breviary and arranges two pressed flowers on its cover. His notoriously long fingernails are suddenly trimmed short in that scene.
  
  
• Anachronisms: A Wurlitzer electric piano model 200 or 200A appears in the dance class and the Christmas pageant rehearsal scenes. Neither the model 200 (1968) nor the 200A (1975) were in production in 1964.
  
  
• Anachronisms: In the scene between Fr. Flynn and Sister James on the bench outside the school, Fr. Flynn opens his breviary. However, this is not the traditional breviary (Breviarium Romanum) in Latin that was in use in 1964, when the film was set, but a later "Liturgy of the Hours" in English, which was not introduced until 1970.
  
  
• Boom mic visible: The the final conflict scene between Sister Aloysius and Father Flynn, the camera pans downward left and the boom microphone is visible for a brief moment.
  
  
• Anachronisms: As Sister Aloysius walks Mrs. Miller to work, the two pass an outdoor basketball court which displays a 3-point line. The 3-point line wasn't introduced until 1971 by the ABA.
  
  
• Factual errors: The altar boy Miller should have been raising the the bottom of the priest's chasuble during the Consecration (while the other altar boy was ringing the bells).
  
  
• Anachronisms: The mass vestments are the current contemporary style, not the ones in use in 1964.
  
  
• Factual errors: In the sacristy before mass, at the beginning of the film one of the altar servers is seen "firing up" the thurible (incense burner). Incense would have been used only at a solemn high mass, which the mass we see was not.
  
  
• Anachronisms: During the basketball scene in the gym, Father Flynn turns and the backs of his Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars are visible. In 1964, these shoes would have had a rectangular, black heel tag with white writing. The shoes worn in the scene have a white heel tag with black writing, which is present on the shoes manufactured now.
  
  
• Continuity: Near the beginning of the movie, the choir is singing. They show an outdoor scene, then (while choir is still singing the same song) they show the empty choir loft. Then the boys are shown singing on the choir loft.
  
  
• Incorrectly regarded as goofs: In 1964 free throws would often, but not always, be shot underhand.
  
  
• Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Sister Aloyisius confronts the student about the earphones in class. In 1964 there were no such things as stereo earbuds; however, the monaural version she confiscates did indeed exist in 1964.
  
  
• Factual errors: During the Mass a song is shown being sung both prior to and after the Homily. In a Catholic Mass the Gospel reading immediately precedes the Homily and the Profession of Faith (Nicene Creed) immediately follows the Homily.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: In the final scene Sister James has walked up to the seated Sister Aloysius yet, when the camera zooms out at the very end, we see no footprints in the snow on the sidewalk. (This is because the snow effect was added in post production.)
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: William is "sent home" for having a bloody nose. William is then shown walking through a signalized intersection, with crosswalk indicators. You can see the traffic signal change from red to green, but the crosswalk indicators do not change.
  
  
• Factual errors: In one scene, characters are talking in a classroom. On the board is a diagrammed sentence, very common in '64. However, it is wrong - the line separating the verb from the object goes all the way through, same as the line between subject and verb.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: The classroom door open inwards. Ever since the 1908 Collinwood school fire in Cleveland, state laws were written to mandate that classroom door opened outward. The panicking children pushed against the doors which prevented escape from the fire resulting in 172 deaths. Rebuilt and renamed as Memorial school, the school was surrounded by gardens in memory of the children who died.
  
  
• Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): After Sister James asks the children to turn to page 687, the books of the children are lying on the desks on different pages. They should have all been turned to the same placement in their books. (May have been a deliberate error by the filmmakers; students do not necessarily pay attention or always turn to the right pages.)
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: One of the boys is caught listening to a Yankees World Series Game, which took place in early October of 1964. However in scenes prior to this all the leaves have fallen off the trees, which generally doesn't happen until mid-to-late November.
  
  
• Factual errors: During the priest's sermon, the burse (the rectangular object seen lying on top of the chalice veil on the altar) is incorrectly placed. In the liturgy of 1964 at a Low Mass the burse would have been removed from the chalice at the beginning of Mass and placed leaning upright left of the chalice.
  
  

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