RESPONSE TO GOOFS; RE: BUICKS USED
In the movie goof remarks a contributor goofed. There are two Buicks in this movie. The one that appears first at one minute and eleven seconds into the movie - there are three cars in this scene and the last one is the topic of discussion - and the same one again appears at one hour fifty-nine minutes and thirty seconds is a 1950 Buick. This car is easily identified by the grill and parking light in both scenes, but only in the first appearance can the windshield be clearly seen and that presents a problem because in the movie the windshield is a two piece windshield but the 1950 Buick was a single piece windshield. It appears the producers of the movie retrofitted a two piece since in the time period of the movie (approximately 1939-1942) there were no automobiles with one piece windshields.
The other Buick that appears is also the one that is shown in all the movie trailers I've seen for Lust, Caution, apparently driving the streets of Shanghai. It is a four door and it also appears two times in the movie. This Buick is a 1947 Roadmaster, not a 1948 Buick as described in the "goof" remarks. In addition, the referenced "gun-sight" hood ornament made famous by Buick, as were the three "vent holes" that appear on the fender which trademarked Buicks for many years (and have been re-established for the current top of the line Buick Lucerne), this "gun-sight" hood ornament was first used on the 1946 Buick, not the 1948 model. We can identify the Buick in question by two features. First, there is a large badge/emblem (larger than the same badge/emblem on the 1946 Buick) that appears above the "waterfall" grill, (again a traditional Buick feature). This was first used on the 1947 Roadmaster, and again on the Roadmaster in 1948, however the waterfall grill on the 1947 model is taller in height (as in the movie) than the 1948 grill but with the identical badge above. While the Buick Super of both years were substantially the same as the Roadmaster, it is more likely the longer Roadmaster would be used by higher echelon individuals, just as with Chrysler the New Yorker was a upper moder, but if available, the Imperial would be more likely chosen by the more elevated positions of an organization be it in the business world or high government officials.
How or why movie producers make these critical errors is unfathomable. When you are told the time era of a movie and immediately see these Buicks it is distracting; the same as many movies that depict a certain period but the pop music being played in the background is not of the same time.