Filmed (at least in part) on location at the The Lawrenceville School, where the real story takes place. MGM dug up the paved paths around the school to make it look like it did during the time of the story. Most of the school looks the same still today with only a few building added over the last century.
Robert Wagner made his film debut in a small, uncredited role as "Adams," the catcher for Cleve House.
A nostalgic boyhood saga, filmed in Technicolor by MGM, with a distinguished director, William A. Wellman, this picture failed to net a contemporary New York Times review.
This film bombed at the box office, earning $680,000 in the US and Canada and $175,000 elsewhere, resulting in a loss to MGM of $1,096,000 ($11.6M in 2018) according to studio records.
The 'bell ringer' was played by nine-year-old Tim Wellman, the son of the picture's director, William A. Wellman.