Speaking debut of Debbie Reynolds; she had been in La mariée du dimanche (1948) previously, but without dialogue.
James Barton (Dennis O'Grady) was an actual vaudeville song and dance man before breaking into movies.
June Haver was borrowed from her home studio Twentieth Century-Fox after Doris Day became unavailable for the title role due to other Warner Bros.' projects to which she was already committed. Haver's contract stipulated that she would receive top billing over MacRae.
The role of Maureen was written specifically for 17-year-old Debbie Reynolds, and was her first speaking role in a film. Director David Butler advised her to avoid "acting," and just say the lines the way she would say them herself. Another problem for Reynolds was physical: Because her ears stuck out from her head, they had to be glued back, but the glue had a tendency to come undone under the hot lights. Reynolds' mother eventually solved the problem by having her daughter's ears pinned back surgically.