The "sleeve gun" used by Lt. Baumann actually existed. One can be seen at the Spy Museum in Washington, D.C.
The label on the chocolate bars delivered by the Red Cross is legible in the water tower scene and reveals the brand name to be "Lawson's" (with almonds).
The first time a RAF Group Captain is properly referred to by his rank, instead of "Colonel."
The title is based on the musical, and later movie, "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart (who later worked on the military sitcom M*A*S*H (1972)). The original Broadway production of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" opened at the Alvin Theater on May 1, 1962, ran for 964 performances and won the 1963 Tony Awards for the Best Musical and Best Book.
The genuine Group Captain Roberts tells Hogan that he was on the staff of "Air Marshal Tedder." Arthur Tedder was a Royal Air Force air marshal during World War Two, becoming a temporary air marshal in June 1941 and made permanent in April 1942 before becoming an air chief marshal in June 1942. Tedder served in the Mediterranean Theater, where his saturation-bombing tactics became known as the "Tedder Carpet," before helping to plan the Normandy invasion starting in January 1944.
When war broke out, Tedder's assignment was with the Ministry of Aircraft Production, but his relationship with Winston Churchill was not good, and he was soon transferred to the Middle East. This may be why the (fictitious) Group Captain Roberts was the liaison to Churchill while working under Tedder.
When war broke out, Tedder's assignment was with the Ministry of Aircraft Production, but his relationship with Winston Churchill was not good, and he was soon transferred to the Middle East. This may be why the (fictitious) Group Captain Roberts was the liaison to Churchill while working under Tedder.