When Red Skelton runs and jumps onto the fire truck, it is a reenactment of a Buster Keaton gag from The Cameraman (1928).
The Great Turkey Escape scenes were filmed in an under-construction housing development in the Northwest quadrant of Crenshaw Boulevard and 190th Street, Torrance, California. The turkeys required persuasion to leave their enclosure on the back of a truck. Encouragement was applied by men with poles, out of camera view. The scene required at least two takes, with the birds rounded up from their pen (also out of view) and returned to the truck.
Red Skelton came out of a background house during one of the roundups, saw the 12-year-old lad who had ridden up on his bike, smiled and waved.
When Red Skelton unsuccessfully shares an (un)dressing room with a large man, it is a reenactment of a Buster Keaton gag from The Cameraman (1928).
The odd vehicle in the chase is a Hyster "straddle carrier", used to pick up lumber on pallets. It is first seen at the housing development under construction before the groundbreaking ceremony, demonstrating exactly what it is used for. They Hyster company is still in the materials handling business as of 2020.
This film did well at the box office, resulting in a profit to MGM of $218,000 ($2.4M in 2020) according to studio records.