The lead role was originally set to be played by then-German superstar O.W. Fischer, but he was fired after 16 days of filming. The official reason was "unbridgeable differences" between him and the director. Fischer later declared that the real reason was his loss of memory during shooting, which was kept a secret.
Because the film was originally intended to be the first starring vehicle in the US for the German actor O.W. Fischer, the character of 'Godfrey' was changed to an Austrian. Bewilderingly, this change was retained even after Fischer was dropped from the film and replaced by the ultra-British David Niven who made no attempt to alter his usual accent in the role.
A remake of the 1936 film starring William Powell and Carole Lombard in her only Oscar-nominated performance.
Jessie Royce Landis (Angelica Bullock, Irene's mother) remains perhaps best-known for her other mother roles in the Alfred Hitchcock films 'To Catch a Thief (1955)' and 'North by Northwest (1959)'.
The previous version, 'My Man Godfrey (1936)', was first adapted as a one-hour radio broadcast on Lux Radio Theatre, on May 9, 1938, and David Niven played the part of 'Tommy Gray', Godfrey's former classmate (in this film, changed to 'Francesca' played by Eva Gabor).