The Hot Rock

Writer Donald E. Westlake stated in an interview that "The Hot Rock" started out to be one of his darker Richard Stark/Parker novels but that "it kept turning funny."

When the locksmith is attempting to unlock the case in the museum, he's using only a pick. Without a tension wrench, there's no way to turn the lock cylinder, so he would never succeed in picking the lock.

The 20th Century Fox logo is erased away via a "snake effect".

The original network television version included two extra scenes. The first one is where the hypnotist, that is hired, explaining to Redford's gang how hypnosis works and how he can hypnotize the bank worker. He tells them the trigger phrase will be "Afghanistan banana stand", which Redford later says to the bank worker to obey his commands. The second one occurs at the end of the movie where Abe Greenberg and Dr. Amusa go to the bank to retrieve the diamond, but are disappointed to discover Dortmunder already took it from the safe deposit box.

Edited into The Clock (2010)