Shawshank Redemption Secrets: The Plot Holes You Never Noticed
No other film makes you feel both trapped and free like *The Shawshank Redemption*. In my opinion, it’s the greatest film of all time, without question.
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve watched it, and I could keep watching it without ever getting bored.
The story is amazing, the acting is perfect, and the casting couldn’t be better—not just Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins, but all the supporting characters, too. It’s truly a flawless movie.
But even the best films have their mistakes.
A friend suggested I rewatch *The Shawshank Redemption*. I hadn’t seen it in almost 15 years, and I wasn’t sure if it would still hold up. But from the very first scene, I was hooked again. This really is one of the best movies ever made.
However, even iconic films like *The Shawshank Redemption* have quirks, bloopers, and even a major plot hole that makes you wonder.
Morgan Freeman’s big effort
One amazing piece of trivia is about Morgan Freeman during the scene where Red and Andy talk in the prison yard. Red tosses a baseball in that scene, and Freeman did it for nine hours straight while filming. He didn’t complain once. But the next day, his left arm was in a sling. That kind of dedication is one of the things that makes this movie so memorable.
Morgan Freeman’s favorite role
Morgan Freeman has said Red is his favorite character he’s ever played. What’s interesting is that other famous actors like Clint Eastwood and Harrison Ford were considered for the role before it went to Freeman.
Why is Red called Red?
In the original story by Stephen King, Red was an Irishman with red hair. Freeman admitted that when he first read the story, he stopped after one page, thinking, “I can’t play an Irishman.”
But director Frank Darabont wanted Freeman for the role. They even added a joke to the movie when Andy asks why Red is called Red, and Red replies, “Maybe it’s because I’m Irish.”
A funny shirt switch
During the first chat between Red and Andy, there’s a blooper you might not have noticed. In the background, an extra changes shirts between shots. It’s a small continuity mistake, but a fun detail for fans to catch.
A chess mistake
Andy Dufresne is known for being smart and detail-oriented. But in his cell, his chessboard is set up wrong. The bottom-right square, which should be white, is black. This also makes the king and queen pieces switch places, breaking a basic rule of chess. Maybe Andy was too focused on his escape plan to care about chess rules!
The mystery of the poster
One of the most unforgettable scenes is when it’s revealed that Andy escaped through a tunnel behind a poster. But fans have debated for years: How did he reattach the poster after crawling through?
Tim Robbins explained that the poster was pinned at the top but left loose at the bottom. He mimed lifting the bottom to crawl through, then letting it drop back into place.
But some fans don’t buy this explanation. They argue that if the poster was only pinned at the top, it would move or make noise, alerting the guards.
Breaking the sewage pipe
Another debated scene is how Andy broke the prison’s sewage pipe with just a rock. Pipes like that are usually made of iron, which would be tough to break. Andy would’ve needed incredible strength to do it, and the force might have injured his hand.
Tim Robbins later revealed that the sewage tunnel wasn’t filled with real waste—it was cow manure, which he joked was just as bad!
An ending that’s a bit too neat
The ending of *The Shawshank Redemption* is nearly perfect, but some fans feel it could have been more open-ended. Red finds Andy on a beach in Mexico, but the scene feels a little too literal. If the film ended slightly earlier, it might have been even more impactful.
Fun fact: that final beach scene wasn’t filmed in Mexico. It was shot in St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands, chosen for its beautiful blue water.
A real-life Andy Dufresne?
While Andy Dufresne is a fictional character, his story is similar to a real-life prison escape. Frank Freshwaters, a man in Ohio, earned the trust of prison staff and eventually escaped. He lived under a new identity for decades before being caught 56 years later.
Behind the scenes
The film struggled at the box office, earning only $28 million on a $25 million budget. But it became a cult classic thanks to home video and constant TV airings. Ted Turner, who owned the TNT network, played it frequently, helping it gain a massive audience.
Director Frank Darabont was heavily inspired by Martin Scorsese’s *Goodfellas* and even made a small cameo in the film. In close-ups of Andy carving his name into the cell wall, the hands you see belong to Darabont, not Tim Robbins.
Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman
Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman still have dinner together every few years. Robbins said he loved working with Freeman and values their friendship. Over the years, countless fans have told them how much the film changed their lives.
From its unforgettable performances to its hidden bloopers, *The Shawshank Redemption* continues to amaze us. The next time you watch it, keep an eye out for the little details that make this film a masterpiece.
