In the opening scene, a newsboy shouts the headline, "Extra! Oregon State Invites Duke to Rose Bowl." The 1942 movie audience would recognize the opening scenes in the movie as taking place in the previous year, just *before* the Pearl Harbor attack. The 1942 Rose Bowl was especially memorable to movie audiences because it was the only game in Rose Bowl history that was not played in Pasadena, California. Following the U.S. entry into the war, it was feared that the Pasadena game would be an ideal target for the Japanese, so the game was played at Duke University in North Carolina. On January 1, 1942, Oregon State defeated Duke University, by a score of 20-16.
The big black sedan driven by Karl Heiser is a 1930 Duesenberg Model J Sedan (today worth about a million dollars). It is chased by a 1933 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A SS Sport Phaeton (also currently worth about a million dollars). The taxi is a 1936 Peugeot 402L Sedan. The funeral coach carrying the two coffins is a 1931 Studebaker. The fire truck is a 1935 American LaFrance Ladder Truck. That strange six-wheeled military vehicle is a 1941 Ford GP T14 37mm Military Truck. Finally, Frank Raymond and Maria Sorenson make their escape in a 1941 Chevrolet Heavy-Duty Truck. Thus, in Nazi Germany we find five American, one French, and one Italian cars or trucks.
The scene in which Conrad Stauffer asks Arnold Schmidt to sign a document saying he was well-treated (after his men have broken Schmidt's fingers) was parodied by Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong in the "Tortured Old Man" segment of the "Television Medley" sketch from their 1972 album, Big Bambu.