Tempi brutti per i sergenti

The latrine scene is the first time toilets have been shown onscreen in a Hollywood movie. (This predates Psycho, 1960, by two years.)

The movie has Will and Ben being drafted into the Air Force and seeking transfer into the Army infantry. At the time the movie was made, by law draftees were automatically assigned to the Army for two years (e.g., Elvis); the Air Force has never had to use the draft since it became a separate branch of the service in 1947. The original novel and play that the movie is based on did have Will drafted into the Army during WW II and seeking to transfer to what was then the Army Air Corps, but the film was set in 1958, when interservice transfers were no longer being done.

During a ceremony to Will Stockdale and Benjamin Whitledge, a radio announcer mentions Operation Prometheus, (that Will Stockdale jumped out of and pulled Ben Whitledge out with him, to parachute to the ground) mentions privates Stockdale and Whitledge's names. Stockdale and Whitledge (in unison) each ask saying their last-name Stockdale and Whitledge? The radio announcer answers back "Yes, Stockdale and Whitledge."

Followed by No Time for Sergeants (1964)