The husband-and-wife writing team of Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon were close friends of Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. They wrote this script especially for them to capture the essence of their real-life personalities and relationship as well as to showcase Hepburn's athletic abilities. Tracy really was cranky but lovable, and Hepburn really was a terrific athlete. She was excellent at golf and one of the best tennis players in Hollywood.
The busboy in the white jacket who helps relay the fight story to the sheriff is Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer, who played 'Alfalfa' in the Our Gang, aka Little Rascals, short film series during the 1930s.
Charles Bronson is credited using his birth name. However, his last name is misspelled as Buchinski rather than Buchinsky. This is only his second credited film role, released a few months after his first in Meus Seis Criminosos (1952).