Many cast members in studio records/casting call lists did not appear or were not identifiable in the movie. These were (with their character names): Landlady Sara Haden, Military Policemen Jim Davis and Cliff Danielson, Party Girls Jacqueline White, Marilyn Maxwell, Betty Jaynes and Marie Windsor, Boat Owner Hobart Cavanaugh, Carhops Helen Thurston and Frances Rafferty, Lieutenant James Millican, and Defense Instructor John Dilson. A modern source lists Ava Gardner as a cast member, but she was not seen either.
Rare dramatic appearance for Gene Kelly, this is also the only time in which he plays an antagonist in a movie.
According to a contemporary article in Hollywood Reporter, some scenes were shot at the Cal-Aero aviation training school near Riverside, California. Cal-Aero Academy was located at Cal-Aero Field, now known as Chino Airport, in the southeast part of Chino, about fifteen miles west of Riverside. Cal-Aero Academy was a civilian aviation school established before World War II. The Army Air Forces contracted with the school to provide primary flight training for Army Air Cadets. In the film's dialogue, Lt. Henry Willoughby Claven mentions receiving his basic training at Cal-Aero.
This film received its initial USA telecast in Los Angeles Monday 31 December 1956 on KTTV (Channel 11); it first aired in Seattle 31 January 1957 on KING (Channel 5), in Philadelphia 11 February 1957 on WFIL (Channel 6), in Altoona PA 4 March 1957 on WFBG (Channel 10), in Chicago 22 March 1957 on WBBM (Channel 2), in Minneapolis 7 June 1957 on KMGM (Channel 9), in Tampa 13 October 1957 on WFLA (Channel 8), and in Portland OR 23 October 1957 on KGW (Channel 8); its San Francisco television premiere took place 29 November 1959 on KGO-TV (Channel 7); its earliest documented telecast in New York City presently stands at 10 July 1961 on WCBS (Channel 2).
After MGM executives saw a close-up of Peter Lawford in this movie, they decided to sign him to a contract.