Opening credits include a title card for Gerry Hambling without listing a job title. Modern sources state that he was the film’s sound editor.
       End credits include the following statement: “The producers gratefully acknowledge the help of the following persons in the making of the picture: Peter Hollywood, Alan Bell, Hugh Strain, Noel Rogers, Bryan Tilling, James Marsh, Jacques Leroide, Bridget Reiss.” End credits also misspell the first name of musician Gregg Giuffria as “Greg.”
       Referring to the picture by its working title, Twentieth Century Foxes, a 27 Sep 1978 LAT article announced that principal photography was scheduled to begin 16 Oct 1978 with teen celebrities Jodie Foster and Scott Baio. The project began at Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp., where producer Gerald Ayers had decided to try his hand at screenwriting. According to Ayers, the narrative was inspired by the question: “What would happen if you dropped Louisa May Alcott into the San Fernando Valley today?” He believed that Alcott’s female protagonists in Little Women (Boston, 1868), “Meg,” “Jo,” “Beth,” and “Amy,” would have an entirely different experience of adolescence in 1970s suburbia. Fox decided to develop the property, but wanted to stay clear of the Alcott reference, believing it to be too austere and passé for its target audience. A 25 Feb 1980 HR article stated that Ayres spent five months researching the script at North Hollywood High School, where he interviewed teenagers.
       In Mar 1977, Ayers began the casting process by meeting with forty young actresses, and he finished a first draft of the screenplay by Nov 1977. He noted that his female lead characters were only suggested by Alcott’s Little Women, but as of late Sep 1978, he was still replicating their names in the script. By 27 Sep 1978, Fox had dropped the project.
       The property remained in limbo until midway through 1978, when British producer David Puttnam read the script and decided to move forward with the film. He told LAT that he became interested in the plight of teenagers when he first moved to the U.S., particularly privileged children who grew up in Beverly Hills, CA. As of 27 Sep 1978, Puttnam’s fellow British filmmaker, Adrian Lyne, had been hired to direct. The picture marked Lyne’s first theatrically-released feature film, as well as his first U.S. production. In addition, young actresses Marilyn Kagan, Kandice Stroh, and Cherie Currie made their starring role debuts in Foxes. At that time, Currie had already achieved notoriety as the lead singer of the all-female hard rock ‘n’ roll band, The Runaways.
       News items in the 4 Oct 1978 DV and 9 Oct 1978 HR referred to the movie as Ladies of the Valley and stated that “Casablanca Records & Filmworks” was set to produce. United Artists Corp. had already acquired distribution rights, and principal photography was still set to start on 16 Oct 1978.
       Var production charts on 11 Oct 1978 and 16 Oct 1978 listed the title as Twentieth Century Foxes, but two days after filming began, an 18 Oct 1978 Var production chart reverted to Ladies of the Valley. A 20 Dec 1978 Var article announced the upcoming release of Foxes, but one week later, on 27 Dec 1978, a final Var production chart still referred to the film as Ladies of the Valley. The Jan 1979 edition of Triad magazine noted the title had recently been shortened from Twentieth Century Foxes to Foxes.
       According to studio production notes in AMPAS library files, shooting began at Hollywood General Studios in Los Angeles, CA. After three weeks on the lot, the production moved to the San Fernando Valley the week of 6 Nov 1978. Locations included the Little Brown Church in Studio City, CA, and Valley Hospital in Van Nuys, CA, In Los Angeles, scenes were filmed at the Shrine Auditorium, Inglewood Park Cemetery, Hollywood High School, Lookout Mountain in Laurel Canyon, and a private home in Nichols Canyon.
       Casablanca Records & Filmworks was listed as the movie’s production company in all contemporary sources and reviews, but Polygram Pictures is credited onscreen. The only mention of Casablanca is in the music credits, which state that Casablanca Records & Tapes released the soundtrack album. The 1992 book Columbia Pictures: Portrait of a Studio explained that Peter Guber, Columbia Pictures’ executive vice president for worldwide production, left the studio in 1975 to become an independent producer and formed Filmworks one year later. To consolidate corporate interests, Guber brokered a merger with Casablanca Records. Renamed Casablanca Filmworks, the company planned to use Filmworks productions as vehicles for popular Casablanca musicians such as Donna Summer and the band “Angel,” which were both featured in Foxes. Casablanca Filmworks released several pictures, including The Deep (1977, see entry), which Guber produced, and Midnight Express (1978, see entry), which Guber executive produced for David Puttnam. After two years at Casablanca Filmworks, Guber resigned his presidency, but maintained his position as chairman of the board while Puttnam became the new studio head.
       By 1980, Casablanca Filmworks was struggling to remain viable and had only two pictures on its production schedule, The Hollywood Knights (1980, see entry) and Foxes. At that time, one of the world’s most lucrative music companies, Polygram, stepped in and purchased half of Casablanca Filmworks. The deal resulted in a friendship between Guber and Hollywood hairdresser Jon Peters, the alleged inspiration for actor Warren Beatty’s role in Shampoo (1975, see entry). Peters’s custom “blow-dry cut” was coveted by celebrities, and led to his role as Barbra Streisand’s manager and producer on her remake of A Star is Born (1976, see entry). Recognizing the market potential in his alliance with Peters, Guber deserted Casablanca Filmworks and partnered with his friend to form a motion picture division at Polygram. Foxes and The Hollywood Knights were therefore released as Polygram Pictures’ first productions.
       On 11 Feb 1980, HR announced a Los Angeles premiere on 26 Feb 1980 to raise money for the Free Arts Clinic, a non-profit organization that provided therapeutic services for abused children. According to a 28 Feb 1980 HR article, the screening grossed $30,000 for the clinic and was followed by NYC and Southern CA openings three days later, on 29 Feb 1980. The film was also shown on 25 Mar 1980 at the USA Film Festival in Dallas, TX. General release was initially scheduled for Mar 1980, but a 9 Apr 1980 Var news item announced that the picture was set to open at 520 theaters on 18 Apr 1980.
       Foxes grossed $140,568 at thirty venues its opening weekend in Los Angeles, NYC, Houston, TX, and Kansas City, MO, according to a 3 Mar 1980 Var news item.