While making this movie at Universal, Robert Cummings was also making the drama Kings Row (1942) at Warner Bros., so he was rushing from one studio to the other to play two completely different types of roles.
In the film's opening scene, an assistant newspaper editor comments that if Jonathan Reynolds Sr. had lived two centuries earlier, he would have made a great pirate - "Captain Kidd himself". Three years later, Charles Laughton, who played Jonathan Reynolds Sr., would play the title role in Unter schwarzer Flagge (1945) and again in Piraten wider Willen (1952).
The star-making five-year association of Deanna Durbin, producer Joe Pasternak, and director Henry Koster ended following this movie. After Pasternak moved from Universal to MGM, Durbin went on suspension between October 16, 1941 and early February 1942 for refusing to appear in "They Lived Alone", planned to be directed by Koster. Ultimately, the project was canceled after Durbin and Universal settled their differences. In the agreement, Universal conceded to Durbin the approval of her directors, stories, and songs.
"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60-minute radio adaptation of the movie on November 20, 1944, with Charles Laughton reprising his film role.
Astonishingly, Charles Laughton was 41-42 while making this film, just 10-11 years older than Bob Cummings. Like Walter Brennan, he was one of those actors who could project age and infirmity, even during the flush of comparative youth.