Though frequently shown on television throughout the 1970s, the film disappeared from circulation for nearly thirty years, one of very few Columbia star vehicles the studio neglected to release on beta, VHS or laserdisc. There was no legal wrangle at the core of this; the film simply fell out of favor and was largely forgotten. In recent years, The Notorious Landlady (1962) has returned to circulation, enjoying multiple releases on DVD and Blu-ray.
During a conversation with his landlady Kim Novak, Jack Lemmon asks her, "Do you know 'My Funny Valentine?'" In the 1957 film Pal Joey (1957), Kim Novak's character Linda English performs the song, "My Funny Valentine" during the rehearsals prior to Joey's night club's opening.
Director Richard Quine, who got his start as a performer in movie musicals, makes clever use of Fred Astaire's legendary, distinctive walk by having Astaire stride directly toward the camera every time the scene shifts to the embassy.
A reunion for Jack Lemmon and Kim Novak, who had played brother and sister four years earlier in Bell Book and Candle (1958). Lemmon's role in that film was one of many supporting parts he had played in the 1950s. By the time of The Notorious Landlady (1962), he had become a full-fledged leading man, with back-to-back Oscar nominations for Some Like It Hot (1959) and The Apartment (1960). Lemmon would be nominated again the same year The Notorious Landlady (1962) was released, for his searing dramatic performance in Days of Wine and Roses (1962).