"Mahatma Kane Jeeves" (the pseudonym used by W.C. Fields as screenwriter) is a play on words from stage plays of the era. "My hat, my cane, Jeeves!"
At one point, W.C. Fields's character falsely brags, "In the old Sennett days, I used to direct Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and the rest of 'em." This movie's director Edward F. Cline' did co-direct several of Buster Keaton's early short subjects.
In 1992, this film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Lompoc is properly pronounced "Lompoke". It was also founded as a Temperance town, probably another reason Fields picked it as his hometown in this film, and the towns people of the day disliked Fields for these two reasons.
Near the beginning of the movie, Egbert Sousé is whistling "Listen to the Mockingbird" as he & Joe the Bartender enter the bar. Joe is played by
Shemp Howard of the Three Stooges fame, and "Listen to the Mockingbird" was the Three Stooges' theme music.
Premiere voted this movie as one of "The 50 Greatest Comedies Of All Time" in 2006.
Screen credits erroneously list Al Hill as Filthy McNasty and George Moran as Cozy Cochran, but their correct role identifications are Repulsive Rogan (Hill) and Filthy McNasty (Moran).
The newspaper being read by Egbert Sousé is the Lompoc Picayune Intelligencer.
Universal's censors initially objected to W.C. Fields' script and demanded many changes. Director Edward F. Cline suggested that Fields should go ahead and film it their way, and that the front office wouldn't notice the difference. They didn't.