On 15 Mar 1964, NYT announced that filmmaker Joseph L. Mankiewicz had begun working on his first film since the troubled production of Cleopatra (1963, see entry). The project, then untitled, was based on the 1955 Thomas L. Sterling novel, The Evil of the Day, and its 1959 stage adaptation by Frederick Knott, which debuted in London, England, as Mr. Fox of Venice. In addition to writing the screenplay, Mankiewicz would also produce and direct for United Artists. Later that year, several DV items indicated that development continued as Mr. Fox of Venice, and that Maniewicz had recruited actor Rex Harrison for their fourth screen collaboration.
       According to a 1 Oct 1965 DV production chart, principal photography began 20 Sep 1965 under the new working title, Anyone for Venice?” The 29 Sep 1965 Var indicated that Mankiewicz chose to return to Cinecitta Studios in Rome, Italy, where he shot Cleopatra. After three weeks on the studio lot, the 11 Oct 1965 Var reported that the unit had relocated for a week of filming in Venice, Italy, before returning to Cinecitta at the end of the month. It was around this time that Mankiewicz fired the original director of photography, Piero Portalupi, and replaced him with Gianni Di Venanzo. A 5 Dec 1965 NYT article noted that Di Venanzo opted to use “diffused lighting” that broke from the bright lighting schemes traditionally used in comedies. As a result, the 10 Nov 1965 DV reported that Harrison and co-star Cliff Robertson were forced to reshoot the first two weeks of footage. Writing about his experience on the set for the 29 May 1966 LAT, Robertson recounted how Mankiewicz refused to dub the actors’ lines when they made mistakes, therefore requiring certain scenes to be repeated dozens of times from the beginning.
       Mankiewicz’s perfectionism also extended to the art direction, as the 5 Dec 1965 NYT claimed he made $20,000 in last minute additions to the furnishings of “Cecil Fox’s” bedroom set. To prepare for the role of Fox, Harrison studied card games with a professional magician, and took ballet lessons. However, much of the critical dance scene was shot using a double.
       According to the 26 Jan 1966 DV, post-production was completed in London. Despite a 7 Mar 1966 DV report that Andre Previn had been hired to score the soundtrack, he was replaced by John Addison later that summer. On 3 May 1966, LAT announced that the title had once again been changed to The Honey Pot.
       The film opened in London the week of 22 Mar 1967, as a Var brief reported that Mankiewicz hosted a midnight preview screening at the Prince Charles Theatre the previous evening. The New York City debut was scheduled for exactly two months later, 22 May 1967. The 20 May 1967 NYT noted that the event was the first feature film screening to be held at the Trans-Lux West Theatre after a $150,000 renovation. Previously, the venue had been known as the Broadway Trans-Lux, and operated as a newsreel theater. An advertisement in the 28 Jun 1967 LAT announced the picture’s exclusive West Coast engagement at the Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills, CA.
       The LAT review, published that same day, criticized the “unattractive” title, which made no reference to the plot or source material. An 11 Oct 1967 LAT article reported that United Artists later rebranded it as It Comes Up Murder. That change was reflected in all print advertisements, which called the picture “The Year’s Top Suspense-Murder Thriller.”