A longtime fan of comedians George Burns and Gracie Allen, 'Philo Vance' creator S. S. Van Dine wrote a tailor-made screenplay for the team, which emerged on-screen as 'The Gracie Allen Murder Case'. George Burns suggested his character be eliminated, leaving scatterbrained Gracie on her own to match wits with urbane private detective Philo Vance. The character Burns would have played was rewritten for Kent Taylor. Despite his on-screen absence, Burns was on set every day cheering on his wife.
As a tie-in with the film, in 1939 the Milton Bradley company released a board game called "The Gracie Allen Murder Case Game."
S.S. Van Dine wrote the Gracie Allen Murder Case in 1938 to introduce his real life friend, Gracie Allen, into a Philo Vance Murder Mystery. George Burns made a appearance in the novel as the head perfume-smeller at the In-O-Scent Perfume Corporation, but his character was not utilized in the film.
Included among the American Film Institute's 2000 list of the 500 movies nominated for the Top 100 Funniest American Movies.
The source novel featured the same title as the film. However, in 1950 a paperback edition was issued under the title "The Smell of Murder."