In the film, Eddie (played by Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson) says that he's going back to "Mr. Benny." The reference is to Jack Benny, on whose radio and television programs Anderson played Rochester, Jack Benny's driver. This would imply that the character actually IS Rochester, but evidently they couldn't legally use that name, so they use his real name instead.
When Gail says, "Just like the Pot O' Gold program", she is referring to the popular radio show that was on NBC from September 1939 to December 1941. The premise was whoever answered the phone from a number chosen at random would win $1,000 ($17,000 in 2016). Of course calling random numbers out of the phone book would result in a lot of calls not being answered.
In a 1972 interview, Joan Blondell remembered: "It was a hit but has grown on TV viewings because it is public domain. I laugh when I see it. I laugh at Eddie Anderson and Patsy Kelly and Billie Burke and Rollie Young. It's a send-up of all those dark house plots."
According to the Internet Movie Car Database, Cosmo Topper who if one remembers, always had an eye for special automobiles, had Eddie driving his 1936 Mercedes SSK throughout the film. This was an exotic (and expensive) car from the era. Mercedes ended manufacture of the model in 1941.
The crashed cab is identified as a 1936 De Soto, Movie fans recognize this as a common Taxi used in films of that time, ergo the De Soto Cab Company.
A treat is a look at a 1935 Packard Super Eight Sport Phaeton.
The crashed cab is identified as a 1936 De Soto, Movie fans recognize this as a common Taxi used in films of that time, ergo the De Soto Cab Company.
A treat is a look at a 1935 Packard Super Eight Sport Phaeton.
The $26.80 cab fare would equate to over $490 in 2020.