MovieChat Forums > The Wind and the Lion (1975) Discussion > Number of Stars in the U.S. Flag as troo...

Number of Stars in the U.S. Flag as troops march from Tangier Bay

posted 13 years ago by mgs4real
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I wondered about the number of stars portrayed on the U. S. Flag as the troops march into Tangier from the Tangier Bay.

I stopped my DVD and counted them several times at different points.

The U. S. Flag they were carrying had 45 stars!

ACCURATE!

In 1904 that was precisely the number of states in the USA and the number of stars on the flag. Utah had been added to the United States of America in 1896, bringing the total number to 45. It wasn't until 1908 that the next state was added, Oklahoma, at which time the 46th star was added.

I was extremely pleased to see this attention to detail especially as regards our country's flag!

[Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_flag_of_the_United_States]

[–] Gatorman9 10 years ago

If you think that was accurate, just look at the warship in the matte painting in the background when the Marines land. lol. That's actually the USS BROOKLYN, which was the ship deployed to the real event which landed the real "two reinforced rifle companies" shown dramatized here. After 25 viewings (lol) I have yet to catch an art department mistake in this movie; moreover, do you know what a REAL Marine looks like? (Hint: if you have seen this movie, then you DO. lol)