Jacques Demy planned to make more extensive references to his earlier movie The Umbrellas of Cherbourg by casting Nino Castelnuovo, the hero of that film, as Bill. When Castelnuovo proved unavailable, Demy had to change the script.
Danielle Darrieux is the only actor who actually sings for herself
Before Jacques Demy selected Rochefort as the location for this movie, he also considered Avignon, Hyeres, Toulouse, and La Rochelle among others. Rochefort won out because of the size of its central square, though production designer Bernard Evein found it necessary to repaint 40,000 square meters of the city's facades.
Director Jacques Demy wanted Gene Kelly to star in this film from the outset, however he had to wait two years before Gene Kelly was free of other commitments.
French new-wave director Agnès Varda (Demy's wife) makes a cameo in the film as a nun who visits a music shop.
In some scenes Gene Kelly's voice is dubbed, while in others it's not.