In an interview for a much later documentary on Joan Crawford, Cliff Robertson recounts his first meeting with her, at her house. Already somewhat intimidated by working with the legendary Crawford, he is let in, then hears her call from poolside, where she's sunning, "Come on out, dear boy. We've been waiting for you." Robertson has nothing but admiration for Crawford's talent and incredible technical discipline. At one point, Director Robert Aldrich wanted Crawford to cry, but only slightly - a tear or two. "Which eye?" Robertson recalls Crawford asking. Then repeats the anecdote, amazed, "'Which EYE?'"
Joan Crawford was very pleased with the way the film turned out, saying "Everything clicked on Autumn Leaves. The cast was perfect, the script was good, and I think Bob handled everything well. I really think Cliff did a stupendous job; another actor might have been spitting out his lines and chewing the scenery but he avoided that trap. I think the movie on a whole was a lot better than some of the romantic movies I did in the past, but somehow it just never became better known. It was eclipsed by the picture I did with Bette Davis." 'Bob' refers to director Robert Aldrich, 'Cliff' her leading man Cliff Robertson, and the picture she did with Bette Davis was Che fine ha fatto Baby Jane? (1962).
The original screenwriters, the husband and wife team of Jean Rouverol and Hugo Butler, did not receive screen credit, as they were blacklisted at the time of production. Jack Jevne received credit instead.
The film's original title was "The Way We Are", but this was changed to capitalize on the success of the Nat 'King' Cole song "Autumn Leaves", which was enjoying considerable popularity at the time.