Bud Abbott and Lou Costello's drill routine ran only 2-1/2 minutes in the script, but was allowed five minutes of screen time because of their ad-libbing. In fact, much of their dialogue in the film was ad-libbed.
During WWII the Japanese used to show the "Drill Routine" sequence from this movie to show how stupid the American army was.
Grossing over $4 million, this made more money than any film Universal Pictures had produced to that point.
This film took in $4 million (at a time when theater admission ranged between 10 cents and 25 cents), more than either Citizen Kane (1941) or How Green Was My Valley (1941).
This was the first of three consecutive film collaborations among Bud Abbott, Lou Costello and The Andrews Sisters.