Joan Crawford, recently elected to the board of directors of Pepsi after the death of her husband who had been President and CEO of the company, managed to swing a brief quasi product plug for the soft drink by having an unmistakable Pepsi machine (with the red, white, and blue Pepsi logo, but sans the word "Pepsi") installed in the secretaries' on-screen break room.
Joan Crawford was cast ten days before shooting began. This was the first time she accepted a supporting role in a movie since the silent era, supposedly because she found herself in debt after the death of husband Alfred Steele early in 1959. Her part was originally enlarged from the literary source because of her casting. According to Diane Baker, Crawford's role was subsequently cut before release, causing the removal of a show-stopping drunk scene by Crawford. Bits of this scene are in the trailer included on the DVD.
The movie includes several references to other Twentieth Century Fox productions of the era: the paperback book rack seen in many scenes features a movie tie-in edition of The Diary of Anne Frank with Millie Perkins on the cover and at one point the editor mentions the upcoming soft cover version of Sons And Lovers, the movie version of which was produced by Jerry Wald and released in 1960. Perhaps not coincidentally, Diane Baker co-stars in "Anne Frank" as well as this film.
Joan Crawford was originally set to act as onscreen "hostess" for the film's coming-attractions trailer, but this was scrapped when Fox refused to accede to Crawford's request that the trailer also feature a prominently displayed Pepsi-Cola bottle.
The scene where Amanda (Joan Crawford) takes a phone call from her lover, who is canceling their date, was written by Crawford herself. She had received her character's lines the day before filming, but felt they would not work, and asked producer Jerry Wald if she could rewrite them. Crawford did so, with the permission of screenwriter Edith Sommer, who was delighted with the new dialogue.