"The Screen Guild Theater" broadcast a 30 minute radio adaptation of the movie on March 6, 1943 with Edward Everett Horton reprising his film role.
Erik Rhodes, who plays Tonetti, repeats his stage role from the Broadway musical "Gay Divorce", on which this is based.
Helen Broderick was asked to play the role of Hortense but was unavailable.
Advertisements for the film touted Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers as "The King and Queen of the Carioca" in reference to their previous film, Flying Down to Rio.
After Flying Down to Rio, Fred Astaire was reluctant to make a second movie with Ginger Rogers. He had previously been part of a dance duo with his sister, Adele Astaire, but wanted to establish himself as a solo dancer. Astaire sent a note to his agent about Rogers. "I don't mind making another picture with her, but as for this team idea, it's out! I've just managed to live down one partnership and I don't want to be bothered with any more." But when the critics praised the Astaire-Rogers pairing in "Rio," Astaire was persuaded, and he and Rogers made the second film in their partnership, _The Gay Divorcee (1934)_ (QV).
Although "Night and Day" is the only song retained from the show "Gay Divorce" (on which the movie is based), the plotline remained basically the same on stage and film.
The bugle call at the beginning of the "Don't Let It Bother You" dance was developed from clowning during rehearsals, and became an in-joke in future Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers films.
The jumpsuit that Betty Grable wears in the "Let's Knock Knees" dance number was a garment previously worn by Dolores del Rio in Flying Down to Rio.
The musical number "The Continental" lasts 17 1/2 minutes, the longest number ever in a musical until Gene Kelly's 18 1/2-minute ballet at the end of An American in Paris 17 years later.
The original musical on which this movie was based was called "The Gay Divorce", but because of objections from the censor, the title of the film was changed to "The Gay Divorcee" (one 'e' added).
This is the only film in which Fred Astaire plays a role that he originated in the Broadway stage production, which opened on Nov. 29, 1932 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre and ran for 248 performances. Although Astaire had appeared in both the 1927 Broadway musical play and later the film Funny Face, the stories were entirely different, using many of the same songs.
This was the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song, "The Continental". Oscar statuettes were won by Con Conrad (music) and Herb Magidson (lyrics) as 1934 was the first year when an Oscar for this category was introduced.