Elaine May shot 1,400,000 feet of film for the production. A two-hour feature is just under 11,000 feet. This was nearly three times the amount of film that was shot for Autant en emporte le vent (1939).
Peter Falk was convinced that Ned Beatty was the brother of Warren Beatty. When he found out they were born only a few months apart, he broke out into hives with embarrassment and stopped production for the day.
A TCM showing of this film was edited down to 108 minutes, not 119 that showed in theaters back in the 1970s. This was the version director Elaine May edited after regaining control of the film from Paramount after its release.
This was a more personal film for director Elaine May as she grew up in a mob-connected family, and the film's characters are based on low-level mobsters she knew at the time.
Shot in mid-1973 and early 1974 but not released until 1976.