Jeanette MacDonald was one of MGM's biggest stars of the 1930's, but by 1941, her glory days were coming to a close. Her last couple of films had not generated all that much excitement from the critics or the box office. So instead of purchasing vehicles for her, they reached into the past and re-made a past hit, which was the 1932 Norma Shearer tear-jerker, "Smilin' Through." This time, they added songs and Technicolor.