Woody Allen disliked his work in this film so much he offered to direct another film for United Artists for free if they kept this one on the shelf for good. Allen later reportedly said, "I just thought to myself, 'At this point in my life, if this is the best I can do, they shouldn't give me money to make movies'."
The film is one of eight collaborations between Woody Allen and Diane Keaton. Allen co-starred in six of them, and directed seven.
The film features the music of George Gershwin including his famous piece, Rhapsody in Blue, which has been said to have inspired the movie. In a discussion with Silvio Bizio, Woody Allen said that the picture "evolved from the music. I was listening to a record album of overtures from famous George Gershwin shows, and I thought 'This would be a beautiful thing to make a movie in black-and-white, you know, and make a romantic movie.'"
After the success of Noivo Neurótico, Noiva Nervosa (1977), United Artists executives told Woody Allen's producers, Charles H. Joffe and Jack Rollins, to give Allen a message "From now on, make whatever you want".