Otto Preminger always liked this film, although he felt the American critics did not do it justice. The film was a qualified success in France, yet American critics felt the film wasn't French enough, a detail that amused Preminger.
Eveline Eyfel, credited as "Maid," plays three roles: the sisters Albertine, Léontine and Claudine, who stand in for each other as maids at different points in the story.
David Niven won the Best Actor Oscar® the year Bonjour tristesse (1958) was released, but not for this film. He won for Tavole separate (1958), which, at 15 minutes and 38 seconds of screen time, is the shortest Best Actor Oscar-winning performance of all time.
According to Mylène Demongeot, novelist Françoise Sagan was able to buy a convertible Jaguar from the adaptation of her novel. She drove the car barefoot.
According to Mylène Demongeot, Otto Preminger choose her for the film because she was a daring girl who was not afraid to talk very frankly and abruptly to him.