Cinematographer Charles Rosher started the picture, but after several weeks he was replaced by Charles Edgar Schoenbaum.
Filmed between June 17 and mid-October 1946, the film was not copyrighted until 26 November 1947, and its wide release was held back until April 16, 1948. The Manhattan opening at Lowe's State Theatre followed on June 11, 1948.
In the opening sequence, the groups seen listening to the off-screen high-school choir are close approximations to those seen in paintings by the ten-celebrated American painter Grant Wood, now known only for the gaunt farmer with a pitchfork and his grim-faced wife in "American Gothic."
Three deleted Harry Warren-Ralph Blane songs are featured on the 2004 soundtrack CD from Rhino Handmade: "Never Again," sung by Frank Morgan and Agnes Moorehead; "Wish I Had a Braver Heart," sung by Gloria DeHaven; and "Omar and the Princess," sung by Mickey Rooney and Miss DeHaven in an elaborate Persian fantasy sequence.