Doris Day had a fear of flying that stemmed from tours with Bob Hope in the 1940s that resulted in some close calls in impenetrable winter weather. She almost turned down her role in this film because it required travel to London and Marrakesh. Her husband and manager, Martin Melcher talked her into accepting it.
Bernard Herrmann (the composer of the score) can be seen conducting the orchestra during the Albert Hall sequence.
Alfred Hitchcock told 'Francois Truffaut' that his 1934 version was "the work of a talented amateur and the second was made by a professional". Nevertheless, Hitchcock preferred the earlier version, largely because it wasn't so polished.
Alfred Hitchcock: [stairs] Big scene on the stairs at the end.
Alfred Hitchcock: in the Moroccan marketplace in a crowd watching the elevated acrobats with his BACK to the camera, on the extreme left, immediately before the murder. Be *alert* and look QUICKLY (and if possible, have "pause" and "rewind" controls available), as this cameo is very easy to miss - even after repeated viewings - because the eye is naturally drawn to the acrobats.
John Michael Hayes wrote the screenplay based on a treatment written by Angus MacPhail. But Hayes was infuriated when Alfred Hitchcock submitted both Hayes' and MacPhail's names to receive credit for the screenplay. Hayes demanded the credit be sent for arbitration to the Writers Guild of America, who judged Hayes the sole author. Though he was successful in his bid for credit, it caused a never-healed rift between Hitchcock and John Michael Hayes.
A Vicary Street sign can be seen though the telephone box when Jo rings the police. Vicary Street was in Blenheim Gardens running off Brandon Road, but no longer exists having been demolished during the construction of the Blenheim Gardens Estate. It was about three blocks away from St Saviour's Church Hall (Ambrose Chapel).
Ambrose Chapel was filmed at St. Saviour's Church Hall in St. Saviour's Road, Brixton Hill, London. St. Saviour's was sold off by the Church of England in the 1970s and has since been torn down.
At first, Doris Day refused to record "Que Sera, Sera" as a popular song release, dismissing it as "a forgettable children's song." It not only went on to win an Academy Award, but also became the biggest hit of her recording career and her signature song.
Conductor Bernard Herrmann plays himself on-screen. He's listed as such in the beginning credits, and his name can be seen on the poster play bill when Doris Day exits the taxi at Albert Hall. All the names on the poster play bill are those of the performers of the "Cantata Storm Clouds" : the London Symphony Orchestra, Barbara Howitt (mezzo-soprano) and the Covent Garden Opera Chorus.
In 1965, Alfred Hitchcock and James Stewart filed a $4,000,000 lawsuit against Paramount Pictures, arguing that their eight-year agreement with the studio had ended and that Paramount had breached their copyright by televising the film. The director and actor also requested that Paramount return the film's original negative to them. The final disposition of this suit has not been made public, but the film remained unavailable for commercial exhibition for many years.
In a 1994 interview available on the liner notes of a Rhino compilation of Oscar winning songs, songwriter 'Jay Livingstone' says that he came across the phrase "Que Sera Sera" in the movie The Barefoot Contessa, when Rossano Brazzi shows Ava Gardner his house, and she sees the inscription "Que Sera Sera" on the gate. He tells her that is the family motto, and it means 'Whatever will be, will be'.
It was during the making of this film, when she saw how camels, goats and other "animal extras" in a marketplace scene were being treated, that Doris Day began her lifelong commitment to preventing animal abuse.
Many of the Moroccan extras had been mistakenly informed that they would only be paid if they were actually visible in the film. This led to a lot of pushing and shoving to get close to the camera until the crew explained to them that they would be paid no matter what.
On the poster play bill, we can see the date of the Albert Hall concert : Monday 6 June at 8. So the action takes place in 1955, year of the shooting of the film, when June the 6th was a Monday (1949 had the same calendar but is not likely). And the movie is supposed to begin on Saturday, June the 4th and finish on Monday, June the 6th 1955.
Rarely for a Hitchcock film, at least two of the characters are representations of real people: amongst Jo's UK-based theatrical friends are the impresario Val Parnell and his wife Helen.
The aeroplane shown in this film (G-AMOF) was a Viscount 701 owned by BEA.
The Albert Hall sequence lasts 12 minutes without a single word of dialogue and consists of 124 shots.
The crucial concert piece for the Albert Hall sequence was the same piece composed by Arthur Benjamin specifically for the original 1934 version of the film. Alfred Hitchcock offered Bernard Herrmann the opportunity to compose a new work for the scene, but Herrmann chose not to, citing an appreciation of the original cantata.