The ghost story, "The Golden Arm," that Andy tells around the campfire is adapted, and its conclusion lifted directly, from Mark Twain's essay "How to Tell a Story."
Barney tells the boys that when they are on their camping trip, "You will be away from the roaring traffic's boom." His comment refers to lyrics from the 1932 Cole Porter song "Night and Day": "In the roaring traffic's boom / In the silence of my lonely room / I think of you / Night and day."
This episode was the second-to-last appearance of Gomer Pyle. This recurring character would go on to be in his own television series.
Gomer tells Andy and Barney that there's a movie on TV with Preston Foster. Preston Stratton Foster (August 24, 1900 - July 14, 1970) was an American actor of stage, film, radio, and television, whose career spanned nearly four decades. He also had a career as a vocalist.