Jessica Lange's performance in this film has been said to be actor Sir Anthony Hopkins's favorite by an actress.
The production company of this film was Mel Brooks's Brooksfilms, but as with Der Elefantenmensch (1980), Brooks preferred not to have his personal name, which is associated with comedy, billed with the picture. So though Brooks was an executive producer on this movie, Brooks received no on-screen credit.
Jessica Lange and Sam Shepard fell in love while working on the movie and subsequently had two children together, Hanna and Walker.
László Kovács, the director of photography, decided that the best way to show a lobotomized Frances Farmer was to take out the eye lights he'd been using the entire film.
Jessica Lange, whose part was so emotionally taxing, urged that the film be shot in sequence, but - due to its low budget of $8 to $10 million - the movie was shot out of sequence.