At the time, most Warner Brothers "A" features had a 30-day shooting schedule. This film took 110 days. When Jack L. Warner sent Julius J. Epstein and Julius J. Epstein a note inquiring why the picture was behind schedule, their tersely humorous reply was "Bette Davis is a slow director."
Bette Davis said that Claude Rains was her favorite male co-star. They co-starred in three other films: Juarez (1939), Une femme cherche son destin (1942), and Jalousie (1946).
As told by Robert Osborne on Turner Classic Movies, Bette Davis so loved working with Claude Rains that she championed his taking on the role of Mr. Skeffington, and was so insistent that she got her way.
In the film, Job Skeffington is sent to fight in WWI with the rank of Captain. Claude Rains fought in WWI under the London Scottish Regiment, and by the time the war was over, he had risen from the rank of private to that of captain.