Prior to a preview in Santa Barbara, United Artists had cut twelve minutes from the movie. Director Billy Wilder refused to allow any further cuts, and the screening went poorly, with the audience laughing during the wrong parts of the film.
This film is based on the novella by Tom Tryon. It was included in the anthology collection 'Crowned Heads' which was published in 1976.
According to the book 'On Sunset Boulevard: The Life and Times of Billy Wilder' by Ed Sikov, this movie had only a limited release in some European and American markets with little publicity. Apparently, an upset Billy Wilder complained that only "about $625 on a marketing campaign" was spent.
Director Sydney Pollack invited this film's director Billy Wilder to a preview showing of the Al Pacino film Bobby Deerfield (1977). Wilder cast actress Marthe Keller after seeing her in this movie playing the part of Lillian.
This film is considered a companion piece to the director Billy Wilder's earlier classic picture, Sunset Boulevard (1950). Both movies star William Holden and deal with the life of an actress clinging to the past and unable to come to terms with fading fame and celebrity.
Henry Fonda: As himself, but also as The President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, presenting a Lifetime Achievement Oscar to Fedora. However, Fonda never actually served as president of AMPAS. Accordingly, his credit reads only "The President of the Academy", unlike Michael York, who is credited as himself.