To understand what is actually happening, it seems necessary to expend the cost of the cheapest roll of film you can buy. Load the film, but do NOT close the back of camera. Leave it open so you can observe. This light exposure naturally ruins the film, but it's just one cheap roll.
On the loaded film, use ink to mark the left and right edge of the frame opening that it covers. Then click the shutter so you can advance the film by one position. The trailing edge mark should advance to very slightly beyond the leading frame edge. Mark both frame edges again, and keep going, keep repeating until something is obvious. The end of roll might perform differently than the start of the roll.
At the end, you can unroll the film and check all the markings, and count the frames, etc. Something should be much more obvious to you then. There should be only a very minimal spacing between frames.
The alternative option is to close the camera normally, then take all (24?) of the pictures regularly. Develop the film, but leave the film strip uncut, so you can see the positioning of all the frames.