Rossen hired real street thugs and enrolled them in the Screen Actors Guild so that they could be used as extras.
The film crew built a dining area that was so realistic that people showed up expecting to have their orders taken.
The film started a national resurgence in the popularity of pool.
The words Sarah writes on the mirror are "perverted", "twisted" and "crippled".
There's a misconception that the character Minnesota Fats is based on the real Minnesota Fats (Rudolf Wanderone Jr.). Actually, the character appeared in the book and the film before Wanderone, who up until this time had called himself "New York Fats", appropriated the name.
When George C. Scott lost the Best Supporting Actor Oscar to George Chakiris in West Side Story, it essentially started the actor's longstanding feud with the Academy over the fact that political decisions were involved in the choice of who won. This ultimately led to Scott rejecting the Oscar he won in 1970 for his performance in Patton.
When Fast Eddie prepares for his first matchup against Minnesota Fats, his manager sits down in front of a poster depicting Willie Mosconi, 14-time world champion in billiards from 1941 to 1957. About ten minutes later, Willie himself makes a cameo as the guy who holds onto the bet money. His character name is also Willie.
When first approached to play the role of Fast Eddie Felsen, Paul Newman couldn't accept it because he was scheduled to begin filming Two for the Seesaw with Elizabeth Taylor. When Taylor was held up with the filming of Cleopatra, "Seesaw" was postponed and Paul was able to do this film.
When it was necessary to show some of the trickier shots, 14 time world billiards champion Willie Mosconi (who was also the film's technical advisor) would play the stunt hands.
While at the Kentucky Derby, the race announcer lists some of the horses racing. One of the horses named is "Stroke of Luck". "Stroke of Luck" was one of the titles considered for the film as a result of studio fears that the title "The Hustler" would create negative connotations with prostitution.
All the pool shots in the movie are performed by the actors themselves (Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason) except one: the mass? shot (cue ball sends two object balls into the same pocket), performed by Willie Mosconi.