Trivia: Not really a mistake, given the need for drama in a war film, but the mission takes place the evening before D-Day, meaning the Allies had complete air supremacy, and knew the exact time, date and place of the meeting of the German officers, this mission would never have taken place. The brightly lit chateau would have been flattened by a squadron of heavy bombers. Lee Marvin, an experienced combat veteran, pointed this out to the producers and was told to keep his opinions to himself.
Trivia: The vultures at the end of the movie are meant to represent the Beatles, and are the same voices used for Yellow Submarine.
Trivia: During "Springtime for Hitler," film director Mel Brooks can be heard saying "Don't be stupid, be a smarty! Come and join the Nazi party!" He later dubbed the same line in the 2005 version.
Trivia: When Luke escapes for the first time, he is being chased by a loose dog dragging a leash. Luke jumps over all kinds of obstacles to make it tougher for the dog chasing him. Finally, Luke dives off a bridge into a stream. In the theatrical version, the dog also jumps off the bridge, but the leash gets caught on the bridge and the dog gets hung.Quite a shocking sight. In the videotape and other releases, the dog boss (Anthony Zerbe) claims the dog died from exhaustion, you never see the dog get hung.
Trivia: For production Designer Ken Adam's giant Pinewood volcano set, some 700 tons of steel were used and some 250,000 square yards of canvas. It featured a working monorail and elevators and cost $1 million to produce.
Trivia: The daughter was played by Katharine Hepburn's real life niece, Katharine Houghton.
Trivia: After Elaine screams and landlord Norman Fell comes to Benjamin's door, one of the boarding-house kids asks, "Should I get the cops?" Look closely: That kid is Richard Dreyfus.
Trivia: Despite the long scene where they play each other at baccarat at the casino, Peter Sellers and Orson Welles were never on set at the same time. There are a number of theories ranging from stage fright to their alleged intense hatred of each other. (01:35:00)
Trivia: During the title sequence, as Millie is buying a pack of cigarettes from a vendor her undergarment breaks, the vendor stares at her in surprise, and she does a slight curtsy and walks away. When the film was originally released, that was followed by a quick shot of the vendor looking down and seeing Millie's broken undergarment lying on the sidewalk, but for some unknown reason that shot has been deleted, at least from the version on VHS and the one shown on TV. (I don't know whether it is included on DVD.).
Trivia: The movie went by quite a number of different titles: 'Dance Of The Vampires' (original UK title); 'The Fearless Vampire Killers, Or: Pardon Me, But Your Teeth Are In My Neck' (US title); 'Vampire Ball' or 'The Vampire Killers' (working titles).
Trivia: When Frankenstein and Hertz are finishing their evening meal at the cafe, Hertz eats only one pea with a glass of Champagne. Cushing begins to go out of character, struggling not to laugh when Hertz shakes the empty bottle. (00:25:20)
Trivia: Phil Silvers was dramatically losing his sight during filming, so he had to wear both contact lens and glasses.
Trivia: If you look between the lifts in the foyer, you can see a portrait of James Robertson Justice, who starred in the "Doctor" films that were produced by Peter Rogers' wife, Betty E. Box, and directed by Gerald Thomas' brother, Ralph.
Trivia: A young Morgan Fairchild was Faye Dunaway's stand in for this film.
Trivia: Norman Jewison asked Rod Steiger to chew gum when playing the role of Gillespie. Steiger resisted at first but then grew to love the idea, and went through 263 packs of gum during the shooting of the film.
Trivia: George C Scott has a dual role during the opening credits as a railroad switchman.
Trivia: Ann Bell plays Mrs. Dare, the mother of Pamela Dare (Judy Geeson). In real life, Bell is only ten years older than Geeson.