Beam Me Up, Scotty!: Lenny never says, "Tell me about the rabbits, George" (the closest he comes is when he says, "Tell me what you told me before...about them rabbits"), nor does he say, "And I will love him and squeeze him and call him George". Those lines have become Stock Parody lines because of their uses in other works, such as in many, many, Looney Tunes shorts, most notably the Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck cartoon "The Abominable Snow Rabbit", and the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon where Rocky, who's been turned stupid because of exposure to goof gas, says the former line.
Word of Dante: It's never stated whether or not Curley's broken hand was a permanent injury as he's just shown in a sling in his next appearance. It's generally assumed that it is a permanent injury that ended his career as a boxer because the treatment for his hand would have left it deformed and unable to form a complete fist.
Write What You Know: Steinbeck says Lennie was based on someone he actually knew who put a pitchfork through an overseer and ended up in an asylum. Also, his description of ranch hand life is based on his own experiences.
The 1939 film:
Creator Backlash: Producer Hal Roach preferred not to talk about the film, as he hadn't wanted to make it, and only did so because of a lawsuit from director Lewis Milestone over a previous film of theirs that had fallen through
Darkhorse Casting: Every star in Hollywood wanted the roles of Lennie and George, and it came as a surprise when they went to the unknown Burgess Meredith and Lon Chaney Jr.
Deleted Role: Leona Roberts is in the studio records as playing Aunt Clara, but does not appear in the finished film.
Scully Box: Lon Chaney Jr wore shoes that increased his height by six inches to play Lennie.
Star-Making Role: Burgess Meredith, Lon Chaney Jr and Betty Field became very well known thanks to this film.
Director Lewis Milestone was eyeing Broderick Crawford for the role of Lennie. Lon Chaney Jr, who had played the role on the stage, was brought on to help actresses who were screen testing for the role of 'Mae'. After all the tests were done, the director decided to offer him the role instead.
Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney were also producer Hal Roach's first choices for the role of George.
Screwed by the Network: The reason Jerry gave in an interview as to why he was only in the band for a year. Prior to joining the band, he was under an exclusive contract with a different record label and they would not let him make any arrangements to terminate it.
