Robert Vaughn originally landed the part of Steve Dallas, but was drafted into the Army before he could film any footage.
David White's movie debut
Orson Welles was initially suggested for the role of J.J. Hunsecker.
At the Turner Classic Movies 2010 Classic Film Festival, screenwriter and actor Buck Henry revealed that he was an extra in the scene when Tony Curtis gets his hand caught in the door. Unfortunately, said Henry, he ended up on the cutting room floor.
Gossip columnist Elwell (David White) is also a character in The Comedian. Both productions are from material by Ernest Lehman.
Hunsecker's apartment building is actually the show-business office tower at 1619 Broadway, also known as the Brill Bldg., a famous part of Tin Pan Alley.
In 2000, on their self-titled album, rock band Kitty Kat Stew released a song called "Cookie Full Of Arsenic". The song's lyrics relate to the movie and incorporates a snippet of its actual dialogue, featuring the famous line.
One of the musical refrains that is repeated throughout the film was used nearly note for note in Boogie Nights.
The character of J.J. Hunsecker is based on famed New York columnist Walter Winchell.
The movie's line "I'd hate to take a bite outta you. You're a cookie full of arsenic" was voted as the #99 of "The 100 Greatest Movie Lines" by Premiere in 2007.
The narc in the film, Lt Harry Kello, is based on NYPD detective Eddie Egan, immortalized by Gene Hackman as 'Popeye' Doyle in The French Connection.
This film's shoot was filled with macho tensions and at one point, the temperamental Burt Lancaster threatened to punch the film's writer, Ernest Lehman. The witty scribe replied, "Go ahead, I need the money."