Film debut of Carol Kane.
The film was shot entirely on location in New York over thirty-two days, shorter than the original fifty-one day schedule.
Shirley MacLaine won the Silver Bear award and the New York Film Critics Circle award for Best Actress. Her role as Sophie Brentwood was acclaimed by critics at the time and is known as one of the finest performances of her career.
The budget was originally set as $1.5 million to just $300,000, cutting costs by eliminating hair and makeup people, using simple, lightweight cameras, cutting the crew in half and negotiating with Shirley MacLaine and others to take a percentage of the picture in lieu of salary.
Asked in 1970 about her nude scene, Shirley MacLaine said, "I did a nude scene for Billy Wilder in 'Irma La Douce', but it was not really nude because I was covered with triangles. In this one, the only thing I'm covered with is my freckles and embarrassment."
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