'The first "on location" movie filmed outside the Hollywood studios sets' according to a plaque at the Waldorf Astoria. The movie continually plays on a monitor near the registration desk at the Waldorf.
This film was a huge success at the box office, earning MGM a profit of $1,474,000 ($20.3M in 2017) according to studio records.
The owners of the Waldorf-Astoria at the time lobbied MGM to shoot the film in color to better showcase the hotel's opulence and decor, but obviously were unsuccessful.
Some interior and exterior scenes were shot on location at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, but the majority of the film was produced at the MGM studios - where the lobby, Starlight Roof Garden, and about sixty other sets were created.
In the rooftop restaurant scene, a female extra directly behind Lana Turner dancing with Keenan Wynn is wearing a white evening gown with a beaded laurel leaf pattern. This gown was designed for Joan Crawford and featured in Reunion in France (1942), although for this film the dress has been slightly altered with the front and back of the top half providing a glimpse of skin not visible on Crawford when she wore it.