A Fine Mess

Location manager Ron [Ronald M. Quigley] scoured Los Angeles for the right kind of drive-in, only to find that nowhere in the megalopolis was one to be found. The solution was to locate a suitable parking lot and build the eatery to the specifications of the script. On a Brentwood corner lot, production designer Rodger Maus and his art and construction departments built a working drive-in dressed both inside and out with neon and jukeboxes, counter and kitchen. As soon as the building took shape, the local office personnel and residential neighbors began dropping by asking when it would open. They were very disappointed to learn that it wouldn't.

This movie was originally announced as both a starring vehicle for Richard Pryor and Burt Reynolds and to be a remake of Laurel & Hardy's famous short subject The Music Box (1932). The movie's "A Fine Mess" title is a tangential reference to the famous catchphrase of Stan Laurel's comic partner Oliver Hardy who regularly said: "Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into' which was used in Another Fine Mess (1930) amongst other of their films and other slight variations of the phrase. According to the website Stan Laurel' and Oliver Hardy dot.com, "although Laurel and Hardy made the 1930 film Another Fine Mess (1930), during their film career neither Mr Laurel nor Mr Hardy never [actually] said 'Another Fine Mess'."

Star Howie Mandel took roller-skating lessons before filming began on the movie, and could actually stand up on them by the time the four nights of filming got underway. His training was drastically accelerated about the time he and Rick Ducommun joined the carhops under the tutelage of Phil Gerard, skate instructor, roller-skate choreographer, and hot-dog skiing champion.

The picture was originally intended as a vehicle for Burt Reynolds and Richard Pryor to both star team in together as a comedy duo.

It's announced that the doped horse, Sweet Sue, won the third race at Hollywood Park and the fourth race at Santa Anita. Hollywood Park is in Inglewood and Santa Anita is in Arcadia. Depending on which route you take, this is a 32-34 mile trip that would take 46 minutes. Meaning, the drugs given the horse were so powerful that it was able to win two races in the same day on two different tracks that were 30+ miles apart. Adding to the artistic license, it's noted that Sweet Sue "ran the last furlong backward, but still won by a tail." Edit: The name of the horse was "Sorry Sue", not "Sweet Sue".