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* [[The Captain]]: Morton, only in title. He's really [[The Neidermeyer]]. Roberts is the one really running the ship. And Morton knows it. Which is one of the reasons - the other is sheer spite - why Morton refuses to let Roberts go.
* [[Corpsing]]: Cagney reportedly had to ask Lemmon to run through one of their scenes several times before filming to get this out of his system, and still just barely managed to keep a straight face.
* [[Dawson Casting]]: Fonda was 49 when the film was made, which seems pretty old for a junior grade lieutenant. It's argued that the film production was mostly Fonda's effort, who had played the role for years on stage.
* [[Executive Meddling]]: Hollywood execs believed that Henry Fonda had been gone from film so long (he spent 8 years in self-imposed exile on Broadway) that they feared he wasn't a bankable name. However, Fonda's years on Broadway included playing the title role, and he was a major backer in getting the film made.
** Production was plagued by re-shoots and directorial changes. [[John Ford]] was the original director, but he sucker-punched Fonda on the jaw one day, and Fonda retaliated by getting Ford thrown off the movie (a later medical emergency kept Ford off production for good). Mervyn LeRoy was brought in to complete production, who tried to film the same way as Ford's style to ensure a seamless product.
** Additional re-shoots had to be done by the Broadway director Joshua Logan when Fonda and the producers felt some scenes just weren't working right.
* [[Fate Worse Than Death]]: Roberts wants nothing more than to leave the USS Reluctant and the odious command of his Captain. Captain Morton knows this, and knows full well that - even worse than a court martial - the worst thing Morton can do is keep Roberts right where he is.
** Subverted when {{spoiler|Roberts gets his wish at last... and he dies with days of leaving the Reluctant}}
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