Trivia

This is the one episode of The Andy Griffith Show written by Paul Henning. Henning went on to create Petticoat Junction (1963) and The Beverly Hillbillies (1962).

The pictures of Andy that Aunt Bee shows at the meeting in the Mayor's office are actual photos of Andy Griffith as a child, including the baby picture.

Barney mentions that his birthstone is ruby, which means his birthday is in July.

In this episode, after the phony photographer cracks the combination and enters the bank vault, he finds Andy already inside. Andy tells him, "You've been able to do in 15 minutes what this town's been trying to do for the past 15 years." He explains that the combination had been lost and the company that built the safe had gone out of business, so they had just about given up hope of ever getting it open. To solve the problem, they installed a back door, which Andy used to get in. However, in Season 3's "The Bank Job," Barney accidentally gets locked in the same bank vault. Mr Meldrim, the manager, says it won't open until 8:00 AM. Andy, Gomer and others struggle to get him out, even trying to cut through the door with an acetylene torch. Barney eventually breaks through a wall and exits through the adjacent beauty salon. They must have forgotten about that back door.

Andy Griffith suggested the character name of "Joe Layton" for the photographer. Joe Layton was a New York director/choreographer who directed "The Lost Colony" in Manteo, North Carolina every summer. Manteo is the location of Andy Griffith's summer home in North Carolina and Griffith had done "The Lost Colony" early in his career. Griffith wanted to honor Layton and suggested his name be used in this episode.