Charles Chaplin, Ray Rasch and Larry Russell won the Oscar for Best Original Score for this film, but it was the Oscar for films released in 1972. The picture had never played in a Los Angeles-area cinema during the intervening 20 years and was not eligible for Oscar consideration until it did.

When some scenes were re-shot, Claire Bloom was unavailable, so Charles Chaplin's wife, Oona Chaplin, stood in for her. She can be seen lying in the bed through the doorway after the housemaid has told Chaplin's character that his "wife" isn't eating.

The first and only time silent greats Charles Chaplin and Buster Keaton appeared on screen together.

Edna Purviance, Charles Chaplin's favorite co-star from the silent era, makes her final film appearance in a small role. Purviance, who remained close to Chaplin throughout her life, rarely worked in films after the 1920s. Chaplin kept her on his payroll until she died.

In once scene, Calvero (Charles Chaplin) quips, "It's the tramp in me", which is a nod to his Little Tramp character, which propelled him to fame and fortune in a series of silent films.

The children in the first scene we see Calvero, the ones who tell him the landlady isn't home, are Charles Chaplin's own children.

The Academy Award that Charles Chaplin won for composing this film's score is the only competitive Oscar he ever received; his other awards were given to him for special achievement outside of the established categories. For the first time since making a cameo in Show People (1928), Charles Chaplin appears on film without a mustache.

British music hall comedians Charlie Hall and Charley Rogers have small parts in the film.

The final film that Charles Chaplin produced in America.

The movie was originally conceived by Charles Chaplin as a novel titled "Footlights".