After the success of Jean Webster's 1912 novel, "Daddy Long-Legs," she adapted it to a play which opened on Broadway in New York City, New York, USA on 28 September 1914 and closed in May 1915 after 264 performances. The opening night cast included Ruth Chatterton, Charles Trowbridge, Charles Waldron and Cora Witherspoon.
Madame Chiang Kai-Shek, the First Lady of China, was such a fan of this film that she arranged for repeat private viewings.
Neither the play nor the novel is mentioned in the screen credits, but most reviewers at the time recognized the similarity, and there was an item in the Los Angeles Examiner in January, 1935, announcing that Miss Temple was to star in a film based on "Daddy Long Legs." Fox owned the rights to both the novel and the play, having produced earlier versions for the screen.
This was the first film in which Rochelle Hudson sang a song.
This was the first film to pair Shirley Temple with Arthur Treacher; they would appear together in three more movies.
Upon its 1935 release, this film was banned in Denmark because of unspecified "controversy." It was also banned in Switzerland and Italy because Elizabeth's behavior was setting a bad example for children.
When Edward sings "Curly Top" to Elizabeth, he says that her eyes "make the heavens proud to be blue." Shirley Temple's eyes are brown.