When asked by a Hollywood columnist if she was upset she didn't receive an Oscar (Academy Award) nomination for her performance, Anne Bancroft quipped, "I should have gotten an Oscar just for memorizing all those lines." Bancroft though however for this film was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama.
Kathy Bates was considered for the role of "Jessie" after playing the same role in the original Broadway stage production about three years earlier. The part in the end was cast with actress Sissy Spacek.
Actress Sissy Spacek caught the play on Broadway in New York City and told her agent she'd like to star in it.
Despite being backed by a major studio and with major performers as its leads, the film had extremely limited theatrical distribution, playing at only thirty-five theaters in its widest release. This marketing decision may have been motivated by the film's controversial story-line.
The film's source stage play production opened Broadway in New York City at the John Golden Theater on 31st March 1983 and ran for 380 performances until it closed on 26th February 1984. It was revived on Broadway in the mid-2000s where it was staged at the Royale Theatre. Its revival season there ran from 14th November 2004 and staged 26 previews and ran for 65 performances (total: 91) before it closed on 9th January 2005.