According to co-star Baby Peggy, Jean Rouverol was originally cast as Christa, but quit the film after she refused to perform a diving stunt. Charlotte Henry was then cast, but quit for the same reason and promptly went into production on 'Alice in Wonderland (1933)'. A stunt double was eventually hired to do the risky scene in place of Dorothy Wilson.
Despite this film itself being a remake of Acht Mädels im Boot (1932), producer Emanuel Cohen wanted to replicate the critical success of Mädchen in Uniform (1931). In studio memos he described wanting the feel of this film to be the same as Leontine Sagan's controversial opus.
One of over 700 Paramount productions, filmed between 1929-49, that were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since. However, because of legal complications, this particular title was not included in the original television package and may not have ever been televised.
According to contemporary news reports, the largely unknown female cast was selected via scouting in eight major US cities. A total of 18 young women were brought to Hollywood and screen-tested.