Willard Waterman's blowhard character of Cyrus Throckmorton is an homage in name and spirit to Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve, the character Waterman played on radio from 1950-57 and on television in a short-lived 1955 series (both titled 'The Great Gildersleeve').
Guns that shot around corners were actually built during World War 2 by the Germans. They did not work very well however.