Producer Samuel Goldwyn forced Virginia Mayo to watch Ball of Fire (1941) over and over again so she could mimic Barbara Stanwyck's performance.
Danny Kaye's wife, Sylvia Fine, was also his personal composer/writer. However, Fine refused to take part in any more of Kaye's projects because he had recently left her for actress Eve Arden. Kaye did not want anyone else writing songs for him, so he simply did not perform any songs in this movie.
This is a musical remake of Ball of Fire (1941). Howard Hawks directed both movies, Gregg Toland was the cinematographer for both films, and Mary Field played the same part (that of Miss Totten) in both movies.
Howard Hawks had no interest in this movie, and only came to work on it because of the $250,000 salary: "Danny Kaye had separated from his wife [Sylvia Fine], and he was a basket case, stopping work to see a psychiatrist every day. He was about as funny as a crutch. I never thought anything in that picture was funny. It was an altogether horrible experience".
(Inside joke) When asked to play without music, Prof. Magenbruch says, "You can't play without music." The others answer, "Well, Benny Goodman used to." Magenbruch then says he's never heard of Benny Goodman.
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