Reportedly, Jerry Lewis was two days into filming when he discovered the financing for this picture only amounted to $25,000. Lewis secured funds from entrepreneur James J. McNamara, his first credit as a producer. Later, work on this picture was stopped for six months in 1980 when the film ran out of financing and Lewis also declared himself bankrupt. The gap in filming has been said to have been responsible for continuity problems in the movie.
In the book "Dean and Me: A Love Story" (2006), Jerry Lewis said of this film: "The whole experience was a mixed bag...I have to admit that the awful strain of the past ten years showed in every part of my work...The movie didn't really hang together, and not so surprisingly, I looked terrible in it."
Jerry Lewis's first theatrical film in around a decade, his last having been Which Way to the Front? (1970), whilst Lewis' film The Day the Clown Cried (1972) was never released and has hardly been seen by anyone. Hardly Working (1980) has often been described as being Lewis' "comeback" movie. Lewis performed a number of roles on this film, he was a co-writer, lead actor and director, the penultimate cinema film he directed. Lewis was aged around 55 years and was going through a divorce from his then wife Patti Lewis when this movie was made and released.
Final film of Harold J. Stone. Final film of Susan Oliver. For the remainder of his career Stone appeared on television.