Fred Astaire always insisted that his dance routines be filmed in one continuous camera shot, showing the dancer(s) from head to foot. However, in the "Never Gonna Dance" number, there is an obvious moment when 'Astaire and Rogers' reach the tops of their respective winding staircases that the camera shot changes quickly to reflect the fact that the filming camera had to be brought upstairs to shoot the close-up finale of the dance number.
44th American President Barack Obama referred to a quote from the movie in his inauguration acceptance speech on 20th January, 2009.
In "The Way You Look Tonight", Ginger Rogers is seen to be washing her hair. The crew tried various soaps, shampoos, and even egg white, but it always ran down her face too quickly. They achieved success with whipped cream.
In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked this as the #90 Greatest Movie of All Time. It was the first inclusion of this film on the list.
The climax of "Never Gonna Dance" took 47 takes in a single day and required many demanding spins of Ginger Rogers; her feet bled.
The film originally began with a musical number, "It's Not in the Cards," which was cut due the film's length and because the number was judged as not very good. Only a bit remains in the final version. The music is also used in the background during the first few scenes.
The shadow dance idea for "Bojangles of Harlem" occurred to choreographer Hermes Pan and Fred Astaire during rehearsals, when three different light sources illuminating Astaire produced three shadows.