What's the Matter with Helen? Goofs!

Most of the flubs in "What's the Matter With Helen?" would pass by the majority of watchers unnoticed, and they're really only light continuity issues which occur in nearly every film (a person or thing not quite being in the same position from one shot to the next). Additionally, there's a few anachronisms (things that are out of place in the period which the film was set). Spoilers ahead....

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ANACHRONISMS:

*No date appears on the film itself, but according to the script and novelization, the Hill-Bruckner murder trial that introduces the audience to the lead characters took place in February 1933. FDR's speech that's heard during the opening of the film is from September 1933. Setting the film in '33 presents several other problems:

*The songs "Goody, Goody" and "Animal Crackers in My Soup" weren't released until 1935, and "(Oh, You) Nasty Man" wasn't introduced until 1934.

*The oft-referenced Shirley Temple appeared in 15 films between 1932 & 1933 (she wasn't credited in several of them), but she didn't gain notoriety until 1934, when she appeared in "Stand Up and Cheer" and "Baby Take a Bow." Following the timeline established by FDR's appearance, it's possible that the majority of the film is set in 1934, but Temple is first referenced the day that the murder trial ends.

*"Movie Life" magazine, which is prominently featured with a cover photo of Marion Davies, was first published in 1937.

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CONTINUITY:

*As Helen shows Adelle her wounded hand, she's holding it higher in the close-up than the wide shots.

*After tending to Helen's wound, right before she gets up from the table, Adelle's hands jump from the top of the First Aid Kit to the sides.

*During the first scene at Adelle Stuart's Academy of the Dance, she clasps her hands together and it cuts to another shot where her arms are outstretched.

*As the mothers pump Adelle for information about film studio, onlooking Rosalie's expression changes from shot to shot.

* As Helen looks at the photo of Jean Harlow, she's holding the magazine with her left hand during the closeup, with both hands in the subsequent shot.

*As Adelle takes the final snip of Helen's hair, she has a wide, toothy grin. In the next shot, it's a mere smirk.

*When Hamilton makes his grande entrance (reflected in the mirror), he's holding his hat lower than in the next shot.

*When Adelle announces they need to jazz up "Goody-Goody," she puts her right hand on Helen's shoulder with her left cocked in the air as Helen faces the piano. Suddenly her left hand is down at her side and Helen's still facing her.

*At the end of Adelle's jazzed-up "Goody-Goody," Linc is looking at Winona and Mrs. Greenbaum is merely watching him from the corner of her eye. Reflected in the mirror in the next shot, Linc has his eyes on Adelle as Mrs. Greenbaum openly leers at Linc.

*As Mrs. Greenbaum whines that Adelle "didn't look at my Rosalie once all day," Linc is looking at Adelle and then suddenly looking away.

*Near the end of Adelle's tango with the gigolo, her hands jump from his chest to behind her back. Since the rest of fast-cut scene is edited flawlessly (including the positions of the background extras), I presume the dance was intended to have gone on a bit longer.

*During "Animal Crackers in My Soup," young Winona's hands change positions several times between shots.

*Mrs. Greenbaum squats to tell Rosalie that the Warner brothers are in the front row. As Rosalie heads for the stage in the very next shot, her mother is standing straight and tall.

*Linc drives Adelle home after Helen "bitched up" her performance, and he reaches with his right hand to shut off the car. Suddenly that arm is around Adelle's shoulder.

*As Helen tries to convince Adelle that she saw the stranger watching them outside, Helen's facial expressions change several times from shot to shot.

*When Adelle stops at the bottom of the basement staircase, she throws her arms and shoulders out to grasp the banister. In the closeups, her arms are close to her body.

*As Helen walks into Adelle's bedroom, her right hand is at her side, holding her paycheck. In the next shot, both arms are in front of her and she's holding the check with both hands. Similarly, as she leaves the room, her right arm is behind her, but in front when seen from the other side.

*As Adelle fends off the corpse, her position changes slightly between shots.

*As Helen burns to letter, she gestures with both hands clenched below her breast. In the following shot, her right hand is grasping the top of the piano.

*After "What a Friend We Have in Jesus," Sister Alma has her head turned right in the wide shot, but left when it cuts to a closeup.

*After Adelle slaps Helen, she holds her with only her right hand on Helen's shoulder. It cuts to a closeup where Adelle's left hand is cradling Helen's neck.

*Helen opens the door of the rabbit cage wide, but when Hamilton walks up and startles her, the cage door is up against her back.

*As Helen looks at the photo the detective handed her, there's a bible to the left on the desk. Helen clasps her hands together, and suddenly the bible's in the center of the desk with her hands on either side.

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PRODUCTION PHOTO

*Here's a goof that's not from the film itself. When Adelle falls down dead, only she and Helen are in their home....

So whose feet are those that appear in this often-seen production photo?