Romance inachevée

James Stewart took trombone lessons in order to actually play during scenes where Glenn Miller is seen performing with his orchestra. However, while learning from his tutor, Stewart's attempts at practicing the instrument made such horrible noises that the teacher reportedly went home in a rage every night to his family. It was decided that Stewart would accurately mime the motions of playing (especially apparent during the performance of String of Pearls) while his trombone tutor Joe Yukl did the actual playing.

Miller's famed swing instrumental of "Little Brown Jug" is depicted in the closing scene as a "special arrangement" Glenn created for a Christmas 1944 radio broadcast by Miller's AAF Band from Paris. In fact, it was one of the real Miller Band's first bona fide hits in 1939, arranged by the recently hired Bill Finegan, who became, along with arranger Jerry Gray, two of the key behind-the-scenes craftsmen that helped mold Miller's civilian band into the enduring commercial and artistic powerhouse it became.

Most current prints in circulation are the slightly shortened 113-minute 1959 re-release version.

Featured in AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to James Stewart (1980)