Star Marion Davies had seen Leslie Howard on Broadway in "Berkeley Square" and insisted that he be her co-star in this film, even though MGM production head Irving Thalberg wanted Clark Gable. When first meeting Howard in person at Hearst's estate San Simeon, she was surprised at his height and made Howard wear lifts in his shoes.
The Marion Davies character of Jennifer Rarick is called "poor little rich girl", a nickname attached to heiress Barbara Hutton, on whom her character is based.
The "tower" that Rarick is building is a reference to the Woolworth Building at 233 Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, which between 1913 and 1930 was the tallest building in the world at 792 feet.
When the camera pans up the side of the Rarick Building, it's actually the Empire State Building.