- The MGM lion was never seen in the original film. The movie was made when both Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and United Artists were both still separate - and quite successful - companies, so only the old United Artists logo appeared in the credits of the theatrical version.
- Buster Keaton had a longer, earlier scene (cut after premiere). In it, Culpepper telephone's Jimmy at his dockside warehouse and discusses his plans to use Jimmy's boat to escape to Mexico with the stolen money.
- The original roadshow presentation, including overture, entr'acte, and exit music, ran 202 minutes. Using most of the footage included in the extended version released in 1991 on VHS and laserdisc, as well as newly found footage (some with foreign subtitles or without audio), still photos or additional audio (such as the police calls run during the intermission), the 197-minute reconstruction by film preservationist Robert Harris (included in the 2014 Criterion blu-ray release) is the closest rendition of the original roadshow release that we are ever likely to see. About 5 minutes of roadshow material in any format (live action footage, still photos, or audio) remains lost, presumably forever.
- A brief scene involving the 2 Detectives (Norman Fell & Nicholas Georgiade) was not present on the NEW 2013 CRITERION DVD / Blu-Ray release. It was, however, included in the MGM VHS / Laserdisc release of the RESTORED version. In the scene, Norman Fell's character (Detective) recommends that he stay w/ Grogan's (Jimmy Durante) body just to be sure the coyote's don't drag him away. In the meantime, Nicholas Georgiade's character (Detective) ascends to radio headquarters (He is seen climbing the hill when the cars first drive off from the accident scene in the General Release version).
- The 2001-2003 MGM DVD releases omit the overture music. In this release, an orange background is used for the opening credits (without changing colors), with the "Intermission" and "The End" screens also have an orange background.
- The original 70mm roadshow version ran 192 minutes (excluding overture and entr'acte music). This 70mm version was then re-edited to 162 minutes, and in the subsequent 35mm general and worldwide release it was cut further to 154 minutes. The original video version was mastered off the 35mm negative and also ran 154 minutes. In the early 1990s, 20 minutes of additional 70mm footage was found in the form of an old theatrical print in an old film warehouse slated for demolition and was transferred to video which was then combined with the 35mm footage video transfer to create the new "video restoration" The original 192-minute, 65mm camera negative print has not been restored and it would appear that the missing original negative segments and the additional scenes, which include a musical dance number, Culpepper and Jimmy's phone conversation, plus a few more scenes involving a TV news anchorman detailing news about the race for the buried money, have been irretrievably lost. The new "video restoration" runs approximately 186 minutes which includes both parts, as well as the overture and entr'acte music, as well as the intermission and closing music.
- The current DVD release contains the General Release Version of 154 minutes. The 186-minute version (174 minutes without the overture and entr'acte music) has played occasionally on cable TV.
- While the 186-minute version is occasionally shown, it is important to remember that it is a patchwork job including footage never intended to be shown in any version. The 154 minute version (161 minutes including intermission and exit music) is the only version currently authorized by Kramer.
- Up through the late 1990s, the video widescreen version had been letterboxed for the 1.85:1 format even though the film was originally shot in Ultra Panavision. Another video transfer has since been made with the image letterboxed for the 2.35:1 format. This film is currently (2003) going through an extensive restoration which may soon result in a complete and fully letterboxed version being released.
- The following is a comparison of the general release cut (GRC) and the Criterion extended reconstruction (CER) (both available in the Criterion box set): The following scenes are extended on the CER. I'll post where exactly on the GRC the scene would have been placed. That's to say, where the scene ends, and what was extended before or after it. (The time includes the 11-second Criterion logo, the 10-second MGM lion, overture, the opening titles, part 1, intermission/entr'acte, part 2, and exit music) Part 1
- 2:57 - opening credits include a reference to Cinerama; no time difference.
- 0:14:22 - More of the 5 explaining to Norman Fell about how Smiley thought Melville Crump was his Aunt Belle. 13 seconds, after time.
- 0:25:01 - Extra Culpepper line to cop car. Melville calls Durante a screwball. 8 seconds, after time.
- 0:27:07 - Extended money talk between the eight, ending in a big argument. Extra police talk, when the officer returns Culpepper's flat hat. 55 seconds and 1 minute 37 seconds, after time.
- 0:27:39 - Extra lines with Aloysius and Culpepper. Cut to the eight other leads ending their bickering. 20 seconds, after time.
- 0:34:56 - Extra car chasing scenes, and Aloysius loses his bet to Culpepper. 45 seconds, after time.
- 0:36:36 - Merman threatens to sue Pike for crashing into her car. Pike remembers that he has a bicycle in the back of his truck. 26 seconds, after time. Also, the scene where Melville brokers a deal with the owner of the plane before Dingy and Benjy could get to it (fifty-seven seconds) has been moved slightly earlier.
- 0:37:21 - Benjy and Dingy pass up a stranded Russell, Mrs. Marcus, and Emmeline despite their calls for help. Emmeline presumes they are going to the police. Extra police talk, followed by a shot of Pike on his bike. Only exists in audio form with stills. 58 seconds, after time.
- 0:40:30 - After the car drives away, Pike looks sad, and continues riding the girl's bike. The Crumps see the junk heap the guy calls a plane. 16 seconds and 43 seconds, after time.
- 0:41:36- At the garage, Russell tells Hawthorne about the plan, and he's in. 23 seconds, after time. Also, the 50-second scene preceding it, in which Mrs. Marcus insists that Hawthorne only gets 10%, was moved to a later spot, which makes sense since they cut out the Russell/Hawthorne scene that followed it.
- 0:43:14 - Extra footage of the Crumps' plane taking off. 5 seconds, after time.
- 0:43:55 - A helicopter following the Crumps' plane. 21 seconds, after time.
- 0:46:02 - Extended conversation between Aloysius and Culpepper about the latter's pensions. 29 seconds, after time.
- 0:48:25 - A short scene where Meyer asks Ray why they didn't move their garage closer to the city. 5 seconds, before time.
- 0:50:06 - After Meyer drives away and Pike is knocked unconscious, Irwin tells Ray to hit him again. 12 seconds, after time.
- 0:54:48 - More garage fight, with the police commenting on it. Ray and Irwin getting the barbell before yelling "Charge!" 10 seconds, before time.
- 0:56:12 - The cops check the garage, find Ray and Irwin still alive. 34 seconds, after time.
- 0:57:50 - Russell saying they're wasting time, and Mrs. Marcus thinking he doesn't want Sylvester in on the money. 49 seconds, after time.
- 1:01:50 - After Russell and Hawthorne up-end Mrs. Marcus to get the keys, the women are left behind and the men go. 27 seconds, after time.
- 1:02:43 - While flying, there are a couple more problems. 10 seconds, after time.
- 1:05:08 - After picking up the farmer, there's a conversation between Meyer and him, in which the farmer forces Meyer to drive on. 52 seconds, after time.
- 1:05:53 - Upon finding Mrs. Marcus and Emmeline, Pike lets them in, after he gets assurance that Sylvester is in Santa Rosita. Russell and Hawthorne are at a gas station where an attendant talks to them about their wheels. 26 seconds and 12 seconds, after time.
- 1:06:55 - A deleted bit of Sylvester and his girlfriend dancing, followed by a scene where Pike tells Emmeline he would have used the money to get something nice for Mrs. Jenkins. 20 seconds and 1 minute 4 seconds, after time.
- 1:07:21 - Extra shot of Pike pulling out of the gas station. 4 seconds, after time.
- 1:08:41 - Meyer can't drive back up the hill, followed by more plane trouble. 50 seconds, after time. The scene where Benjy and Dingy find Fitzgerald in the shower (57 seconds) is moved several minutes later into the film, and contains an extra line from Dingy after Fitzgerald is knocked out. Cut to Meyer stuck again. 16 seconds, after time.
- 1:09:40 - Extra bit when kid gets in Meyer's car. 14 seconds, after time.
- 1:10:40 - Extra shot of Hawthorne's car driving away. 6 seconds, after time.
- 1:12:21 - Extended bit of the Crumps running into the hardware store. 4 seconds, before time.
- 1:16:06 - Despite his best efforts, Mel can't break down the door ("Can't you do it, Melville?" Monica asks while fixing her skirt). 37 seconds, after time.
- 1:17:58 - The Crumps find the dynamite they use in the beginning of Part 2. 35 seconds, after time. Moved earlier, but not cut, is the scene where the Crumps try the alarm, destroy it, and Mel gets electrocuted. This was combined with the scene above, where they find the dynamite. A few seconds of footage have been added to the scene, with Monica questioning Mel about the possibility of him paying for property damage. 1 minute, 52 seconds.
- 1:20:39 - This part was cut at this time, Sylvester crying, thinking something horrible happened to Mrs. Marcus. 6 seconds, after time.
- 1:20:58 - Extended footage of Mrs. Marcus complaining about Sylvester. Cut to Sylvester leaving his girlfriend to save his mother. It is revealed briefly that said girlfriend is cheating on her husband. Cut again to the hardware store, with Mel lamenting about his plight, and discovering a blowtorch. The footage exists only in audio form, with stills filling in for lost visuals. The hardware scene even has stills of director Stanley Kramer and other crew members on the set. 1 minute 27 seconds, after time.
- 1:22:42 - After the Alarm/Electrocution scene mentioned, Monica checking Mel in the paint cans. 8 seconds, before time.
- 1:24:06 - Benjy and Dingy's plane trouble, Dingy throws water on Benjy. 24 seconds, after time.
- 1:26:27 - Schwartz telling Culpepper his daughter's on the phone. 2 seconds, before time.
- 1:26:41 - More of Culpepper/Billie Sue dialogue. 30 seconds, after time.
- 1:27:48 - Mrs. Marcus, Emmeline, and Pike get into an argument. 26 seconds, after time.
- 1:29:00 - After Mel uses the blowtorch on the door and sets it down, inadvertently kicking it towards the stairs, there is this extended bit of the stairs actually catching fire. 10 seconds, after time.
- 1:29:29 - Russell and Hawthorne get into a fistfight. Aloysius enters Culpepper's office to announce bad news. 23 seconds and 20 seconds, after time.
- Part 1 has a combined 20 minutes 56 seconds added in the Criterion reconstruction.
- 1:32:39 - Police radio calls, played during Intermission, expands on the whereabouts of the characters. 6 minutes, after time.
- 1:40:40 - Air control spots Dingy and Benjy's plane near the landing base. 22 seconds, after time.
- 1:43:29 - Police commenting on Culpepper wanting a sundae. 29 seconds, after time.
- 1:43:40 - Dingy screaming in the plane. 7 seconds, after time.
- 1:45:09 - Culpepper uses a pay phone to talk to Jimmy (Buster Keaton) about taking a trip to Mexico together. After hanging up, we find out that Culpepper is at a drug store eating a sundae. Only exists in audio form, with stills filling in for lost visuals. 1 minute 19 seconds, after time.
- 1:48:44 - More Mrs. Marcus/Emmeline/Pike dialogue, Em wants to go to the cops, and something about a reward. 14 seconds, before time.
- 1:54:01 - More Sylvester/Russell/Hawthorne fight, assurance for Sylvester the story is true, followed by them all relying on Pike and his stolen truck. A short scene where Dingy and Benjy's plane almost crashes in the tower. 1 minute 18 seconds and 14 seconds, after time.
- 1:56:10 - The Colonel telling Dingy and Benjy to be patient, followed by getting tied up in the wires, and mentioning "Forget the Brakes!". 34 seconds, after time.
- 2:03:08 - Extra line from Eddie "Rochester" Anderson during conversation with Peter Falk. 5 seconds, after time.
- 2:06:27 - Monica decides to play a childish superstition to find the Big W. She spins around three times and walks straight ahead with her eyes closed. She instead trips into a park bench. Falk and Anderson witness the whole ordeal while spying on the others, as did Culpepper, who emerges from hiding after Mel and Monica leave. 1 minute 8 seconds, after time.
- 2:17:58 - Extended conversation of Aloysius defending Culpepper to a judge on the phone. 22 seconds, after time.
- 2:21:30 - Cab talk, Mel saying if they all stuck with the 25 share, and someone telling him to shut up. Cab talk in the other cab, Mrs. Marcus yelling followed by a "You're on my foot!". Culpepper fixes his flat hat again, then drives away. 13 seconds, 8 seconds, and 14 seconds, after time.
- 2:29:46 - Radio call to arrest Culpepper, who hid in a taxi, then he runs into Mrs. Marcus the first time. 20 seconds, after time.
- 2:33:07 - Mrs. Marcus yelling "Sylvester" then later "Don't push me!" when policemen try to move everyone away from the street. 5 seconds, after time.
- 2:40:55 - Restoration credits appear during the early portion of the Exit Music. No time difference.
- Part 2 had a combined 7 minutes 27 seconds added in the Criterion reconstruction.
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