Goofs

The Indians who sold Manhattan Island were dressed not as Eastern Woodland Indians did, but as Indians of the Northern Planes (such as the Lakota, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Crow, or Blackfeet).

The Devil talks of the Salem Witch Trials and the hangings and burnings. But no one was burned as a result of the Salem Witch Trials. The executions were carried out via hanging only, while others died during efforts to extort confessions of being a witch.

Adolf Hitler says, "Today, I invade France. This is my last territorial demand." Though Germany claimed Alsace-Lorraine (and was annexed after France was invaded), it was never a demand of Hitler who was looking east (The Soviet Union) for territorial expansion. Germany only invaded the west in order to secure his rear when he did invade the Soviet Union. Further, as he never claimed French territory, he could not state that that would be his last territorial demand.

Adolf Hitler says, "Today, I invade Russia. This is my last territorial demand." After the war started in 1939, Hitler stopped claiming that this or that was his last territorial demand. Once the war started, he felt he was strong enough to extract whatever he wanted from his victims and no longer needed to justify his actions. Further, as he had never honored his word before, he knew no one would believe him again, and by the start of the war, he no longer felt the need to placate anyone by stating this was his last demand.

A "Los Angeles Gazette" dummy headline reads "JAPS BOMB PEARL HARBOR, 2 U.S. Warships, 2 Jap Air Carriers Reported Hit." Obviously many more American ships were hit, and no Japanese ships were damaged during the attack.

It can be seen that the paper is a "Flash News" edition, meaning it is the first report of the attack. At that point, the battle still may have been in progress. Note the use of "reported" vs. "were" or "confirmed". Errors in early news reports coming from the midst of a sneak attack would not be surprising.

Sir Isaac Newton published his famous paper outlining the law of gravity in 1666, but in the sequence in which Harpo Marx plays Newton, he performs on the harp Stephen Foster's song "Beautiful Dreamer", written in 1864 -- almost two centuries later.

The film is not a documentary; this is artistic license, commonly used by writers and directors; it is not a Goof.

Elizabeth I is threatened by the Spanish ambassador with the Armada. The ambassador retires from the scene, and Elizabeth rails against him and Spain. She summons William Shakespeare, who tells her of his new comedy "The Taming Of The Shrew". But the "Taming Of The Shrew" had yet to be written. The Spanish Armada was defeated in 1588, while "The Taming Of The Shrew" was written circa 1590-1592.

Shakespeare (Cyril Gardner) actually says he has the "beginnings" of a new comedy, so the play was not complete. As it is of the general period, it's plausible and within the scope of artistic license used by writers and the director.

Peter Minuit (Groucho Marx) sings the first line of Swanee River, which would not be written for another 200 years.

He also talks about receipts for his income tax. This is called artistic license by the writers and director and is done for comedic intent; it is not a Goof.

The cheap production values of this film resulted in many anachronisms. Some of the most obvious include: In ancient Greece, the hand of Plato is shown writing in cursive with a stylus, but he has no inkwell, and his shirtsleeve (on a toga?) looks more medieval or renaissance. In the next shot, Aristotle is surrounded by bubbling glass beakers filled with colored liquids, a la Victor Frankenstein's laboratory. The Indian who sells Manhattan sits in front of a Plains tribe tepee and wears a full Western war bonnet.