Referring to the film as The Out-of-Towner, a news item in the 16 Oct 1968 Var announced that Neil Simon’s second original screenplay, following After the Fox (1966, see entry), would be filmed by Paramount Pictures and Jack Lemmon’s Jalem Productions, Inc., beginning in the spring of 1969. Lemmon was attached to star, and hoped to cast Joanne Woodward as his co-star, according to the 4 Dec 1968 Var. However, shortly after, a 24 Dec 1968 DV news brief stated that Sandy Dennis would play the female lead.
       The 21 Jun 1970 LAT noted that Simon had originally written The Out-of-Towners as the fourth segment of his stage play, Plaza Suite; however, it was excised before the production debuted on 14 Feb 1968 at New York City’s Plymouth Theatre. Among other departures from the initial Plaza Suite version, Simon changed the hotel location in The Out-of-Towners from the Plaza Hotel to the Waldorf Astoria.
       During pre-production, a commuter train sequence was shot over the course of one week, on a train running between Los Angeles and San Bernadino, CA. Principal photography officially began on 18 Mar 1969 in Boston, MA, as stated in the next day’s DV. Following eight days of filming in Boston, where the Logan International Airport stood in for itself, cast and crew were scheduled to shoot the remainder of the picture in New York City, at locations including Grand Central Station, the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, and a Manhattan police station. An estimated ninety percent of the picture was set to be filmed at night, largely due to the fact that the Waldorf Astoria would only allow the film crew on the premises between midnight and 6:00 a.m. As stated in the 16 Apr 1969 Var, it had been Simon’s idea to shoot mostly on location so the film would “look original, not like a stage play.” Director Arthur Hiller was said to be pleasantly surprised by the smoothness of the production, which he credited to New York Mayor John Lindsay’s recent efforts to lower union rates and ease filming restraints in the city, according to a 23 Apr 1969 Var article.
       Principal photography ended in early Jun 1969, according to the 10 Jun 1969 DV, which stated that filming had been completed the previous week.
       Seventeen preview screenings were scheduled to take place on 10 Mar 1970 in cities across the U.S., according to a 6 Mar 1970 DV item. Theatrical release followed on 29 May 1970 in New York City, and on 24 Jun 1970 in Los Angeles, CA. Critical reception was mixed. While the 23 Mar 1970 DV called the film “a total delight,” Roger Greenspun’s 29 May 1970 NYT review deemed it a seemingly “conscious exercise in dulled insights and missed opportunities.” Greenspun also complained that a boom microphone became visible about two-thirds of the way through the picture, and was intermittently seen throughout the remainder of the film. The Out-of-Towners went on to become the thirteenth-highest-grossing picture of 1970, taking in $7.25 million in film rentals, as cited in a 6 Jan 1971 Var box-office chart.
       Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis were nominated for Golden Globe Awards for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and Actress in a Leading Role – Musical or Comedy, respectively.
       In 1999, Paramount released a remake of the film, starring Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn (see entry).