Louis Calhern replaced Frank Morgan in the role of Buffalo Bill after Morgan died just as filming was getting under way. But if you look closely at Buffalo Bill's very first appearance on his horse, you will see a second of Frank Morgan before the shot of Calhern.
Judy Garland and Frank Morgan, who appeared together in The Wizard of Oz, were scheduled to reappear together in this film. Garland was fired because of health problems, and Frank Morgan died shortly after filming began. As a result of this, Betty Hutton took over Judy Garland's role as Annie Oakley, and Louis Calhern succeeded Frank Morgan as Buffalo Bill.
Judy Garland, originally cast as Annie, was taken ill during early filming and production was halted until Betty Hutton finished Let's Dance and was called in to replace her.
Ginger Rogers wrote in her 1991 autobiography that she told her agent Leland Hayward to aggressively go after this film for her, and that money was no object. She wrote that she would have worked for one dollar, to make it legal. Hayward spoke with Louis B. Mayer, who said: "Tell Ginger to stay in her high-heel shoes and her silk stockings, she could never be as rambunctious as Annie Oakley has to be".
Irving Berlin added one original movie song to his Broadway score, "Let's Go West Again," which was deleted. Recordings by both Judy Garland and Betty Hutton are contained on the soundtrack CD issued by Rhino. In addition, Miss Hutton's footage can be seen on the DVD from Warner Home Video.
Irving Berlin's "You Can't Get A Man With a Gun" is strikingly similar to "True to the Navy" written by Elsie Janis and Jack King and performed by Clara Bow in Paramount on Parade. That earlier song was later performed by Carmen Miranda in the Fox film Doll Face but was cut from that film as Paramount threatened to sue.
Betty Hutton said in an interview that the crew at MGM was not very nice to her because they told her they'd rather have Judy Garland in the role. However, at a recent screening of the re-mastered print of the film, the surviving members of the cast and crew praised Hutton's performance highly, and acknowledged her contribution to the film. Hutton was one of the surviving cast members who did not attend that screening.
Charles Walters did not know that he had been fired and replaced by George Sidney until he heard gossip columnist Hedda Hopper announce it on the radio.
Charles Walters suggested to Arthur Freed that Betty Grable would be an ideal Annie Oakley. However, Twentieth Century-Fox wouldn't loan her out.
Howard Keel broke his leg during filming when a horse fell on it.
After Judy Garland was fired from the film, MGM flirted with the idea of casting Ethel Merman in the role she originated on Broadway, but producer Arthur Freed vetoed the idea, as Merman was dissatisfied with her previous film experiences.
After Judy Garland's firing from the picture, Betty Garrett was briefly considered as a replacement.
All of the Busby Berkeley-directed footage was unused and re-shot.
Before the eventual casting of Judy Garland as Annie Oakley, Doris Day and Judy Canova were mentioned for the role, as well as Betty Hutton (this was before she eventually replaced Garland in the role).
Despite its popularity, this film was unavailable in any form from 1973 until 2000 due to legal tangling between Irving Berlin (and later his estate) and MGM (later Turner Entertainment and Warner Bros). It was finally re-released in 2000 after the 1998 Broadway revival of the stage show with Bernadette Peters renewed interest in seeing this film again.
Director Busby Berkeley was also replaced, by George Sidney. Charles Walters had been set to direct after Berkeley left, but was fired before he could actually shoot any of it.
Rights to the Broadway show cost $650,000, a record at the time.
Script and casting problems delayed the filming schedule for three months, which allowed Judy Garland to appear in In the Good Old Summertime in relatively good health.