Directed by George Cukor and produced by Jerry Wald from a screenplay by Norman Krasna, Hal Kanter and Arthur Miller, the film stars Marilyn Monroe, Yves Montand and Tony Randall.

After going to the theatre, he sees Amanda Dell rehearsing the Cole Porter song "My Heart Belongs to Daddy", and, by accident, the director thinks he is an actor suitable to play himself in the revue.

In order to impress Amanda, Clément hires Milton Berle, Gene Kelly, and Bing Crosby (all playing themselves) to teach him how to deliver jokes, dance, and sing, respectively.

Eventually, Clément decides to confess the truth to Amanda, who reacts by assuming that he has gotten overwhelmed by method acting and needs to see a therapist.

He was inspired to write the script after seeing Burt Lancaster do a dance at a Writers Guild Award ceremony and receive loud applause.

He came up with the idea of a story about a very wealthy playboy like John Hay Whitney who hears about a company putting on a show that made fun of him and becomes enamored of the theater and a woman in the play.

Krasna felt that only three actors were suitable – Gary Cooper, James Stewart and Gregory Peck – because all were so obviously not musical performers, making it funny if they sang and danced.

[3] It was eventually offered to Yves Montand, who had appeared in a French film version of Miller's The Crucible (1957) and had received praise for his recent one-man musical show in New York.

Montand's wife Simone Signoret, with whom he had starred in the French version of The Crucible, won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Room at the Top in April.

Monroe, at this point in her career, had developed a reputation (beyond Hollywood) for oftentimes being late to set, forgetting her lines, and deferring to her coach over the director.

[7] Monroe and Montand were said to have bonded over the difficulties each was experiencing with the film, and when both Miller and Signoret departed during production for other commitments rumors about an affair between the two were rampant.

Given the box office popularity of Monroe, and the press surrounding Montand and their relationship at the time, the film was considered to be a disappointment, although it was, in truth, a moderate success.

"[15] During an interview with David Letterman in 1988, Montand acknowledged his difficulties with the script and his problem speaking English, but said it was an honor to work alongside Marilyn Monroe.

[16] In advance of the film's release (as was the custom of the era), a paperback novelization of the screenplay was published in 1960 by Bantam Books, by-lined by Matthew Andrews, which seems to have been a pseudonym.