This movie was Twentieth Century-Fox's attempt to capitalize on the success of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello's wartime comedy smash-hit Buck Privates. The movie's initial script even includes a reference to the A&C film. According to Stan Laurel's daughter Lois Laurel, during the filming of "Buck Privates" Costello even came to Laurel several times to ask his advice on comedy matters.
This was Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy's first movie for a major studio--their previous films had been released by MGM but not made by the studio--and they were confounded by the ways of the Hollywood studio system. All of their previous films had been shot in sequence and had been directed, edited and supervised by an uncredited Stan Laurel; Fox did not allow him such creative activity. In later years Laurel continually and bitterly recalled the "shabby" treatment he and Hardy received from Fox and MGM.