Trivia

Lauren Bacall's character, Schatze, says, "I've always liked older men . . . Look at that old fellow, what's-his-name, in The African Queen (1951); absolutely crazy about him." She is referring to her then real-life husband, Humphrey Bogart.

According to Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe was a challenge to work with. It wasn't because she was unpleasant, but rather her insecurity and total dependence on her personal acting coach Natasha Lytess for approval: "Betty Grable was a funny, outgoing woman, totally professional and easy. Marilyn was frightened, insecure--trusted only her coach and was always late. During our scenes she'd look at my forehead instead of my eyes; at the end of a take, look to her coach, standing behind Jean Negulesco, for approval. If the head shake was no, she'd insist on another take. A scene often went to 15 or more takes, which meant I'd have to be good in all of them as no one knew which one would be used. Not easy--often irritating. And yet I couldn't dislike Marilyn. She had no meanness in her--no bitchery. She just had to concentrate on herself and the people who were there only for her."

According to Nunnally Johnson, Lauren Bacall (who was known as "Betty" to her friends) and Betty Grable became instant pals: "I don't think Betty Bacall and Betty Grable had ever met before," he said, " . . . but Betty Bacall fell in love with Grable and now thinks she's the funniest clown she ever had the pleasure of knowing. Which is not far from true. Miss Grable is a real hooligan, and is a fine salty, bawdy girl, without an ounce of pretense about her. In addition, she's giving a better performance than anything she ever did before."

Alexander D'Arcy noticed the destructive nature of Marilyn Monroe's relationship with Natasha Lytess: "Natasha was really advising her badly, justifying her own presence on the set by requiring take after take and simply feeding on Marilyn's insecurity."

When Pola (Marilyn Monroe) is modeling the red swimsuit, the description given of the outfit is: "You know, of course, that diamonds are a girl's best friend." Monroe sings the number "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), which was released the same year as this film.