Before filming began, the cast was taken to Perc Westmore's salon on a Sunday morning to have their hair dyed red. When it was time to rinse the dye, the beauticians discovered that the water had been turned off for the entire block because the street was being repaired. Because dyes were so strong then, leaving them on could have caused the cast to lose their hair. Luckily, someone suggested diluting the dye with cold cream.
Playwrights Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, and Clarence Day's widow were on the set and given veto power on all aspects of this movie. According to author David Chierichetti, Mrs. Day approved Irene Dunne's characterization and even lent some jewelry that belonged to the real Vinnie.
The original play, "Life With Father", is the longest-running Broadway non-musical play ever. It played on Broadway for nearly eight years (3,224 performances), from 1939 to 1947, and held the record for 25 years until "Fiddler on the Roof" surpassed it. In the play, author Howard Lindsay played Father, Dorothy Stickney was Vinnie, and Teresa Wright was Mary. The movie version was released in 1947, the year the Broadway run ended. The original Broadway production is the sixteenth longest-running show, as of February 2013.
During its run at Radio City Music Hall, the management alternated top billing between William Powell and Irene Dunne on a daily basis.