Kathleen Howard was left with a fractured jaw when the punch that Barbara Stanwyck threw accidentally made contact. Stanwyck was reportedly mortified by the incident.
Lucille Ball wanted to play Katherine 'Sugarpuss' O'Shea, as she thought it was the kind of role that would win her an Oscar. She fought for the role and was eventually hired, but once producer Samuel Goldwyn found out that Barbara Stanwyck was available he gave her the part instead.
Howard Hawks recalled that for the scene in which Bertram reveals his feelings about Sugarpuss in the darkened bungalow, cinematographer Gregg Toland coated Barbara Stanwyck's face with black grease paint so that her eyes would stand out.
The roles of the seven professors (besides Gary Cooper) were inspired by Disney's Seven Dwarfs. There is even a photograph showing the actors sitting in front of a Disney poster, each one in front of his corresponding dwarf: S.Z. Sakall - Dopey; Leonid Kinskey - Sneezy; Richard Haydn - Bashful; Henry Travers - Sleepy; Aubrey Mather - Happy; Tully Marshall - Grumpy, and Oscar Homolka - Doc.
When Gary Cooper is taking notes of the newsboy's slang, the marquee on the theater across the street advertises Blanche-Neige et les Sept Nains (1937), an inside joke that refers to the script's inspiration.