Cary Grant, one of the cinema's greatest comedic actors, was only ever nominated twice for an Academy Award for Best Actor, in both instances for lesser-known dramatic roles. This was one of them, followed three years later by None But the Lonely Heart (1944).
Irene Dunne often said that this was her favorite film because it reminded her of her own adopted daughter. However, in a letter to at least one fan, she wrote that Love Affair (1939) was the top favorite of all her films.
At the time, California law restricted the time an infant could be present in a film studio to two hours per day; during that time, the infant could be kept on a sound stage for only one hour, and be filmed under the studio lights for only twenty minutes at a time. To double the amount of time he could film the character of Trina both as a baby and as a one-year-old, director George Stevens hired identical twin girls for Trina at each age. The baby was played by Judith and Dianna Fleetwood, and the one-year-old by Joan and Jane Biffle.
Third of three movies - all major hits - which paired Cary Grant and Irene Dunne playing spouses, following The Awful Truth (1937) and My Favorite Wife (1940). Dunne would express regret that she and Grant had no further collaborations, stating that their respective schedules nixed any re-teaming. However, Grant openly admitted that subsequent to being second billed in ''Penny Serenade'' he'd insist on top-billing in all his films, a prerogative Dunne would not be willing to concede.