As Mike Hammer drives to Laura Knapp's house his car changes from a 1962 Ford 500 to a 1956 Ford Thunderbird.
After Mickey in clobbered entering his office, the phone rings and the intruder smashes the handset sitting in the cradle of the phone. Phones were made from high-density Bakelite back then and were nearly impossible to break. It smashed to pieces like it was made of very thin plastic.