According to the 19 Sep 1968 DV review of the film, the following acknowledgment appears onscreen: “In Memory of Robert Ford.”
       Various contemporary sources noted that Dreams of Glass marked the feature film debut of producer-writer-director Robert Clouse, although his second picture, Darker than Amber (1970, see entry), was released first. Clouse began as a commercial director, and gained attention with two Academy Award-nominated short films, The Cadillac (1962) and The Legend of Jimmy Blue Eyes (1964). He subsequently signed a deal with Paramount Pictures for “one feature and five options,” as stated in the 18 Jan 1968 DV. However, Paramount turned down Dreams of Glass when Clouse submitted the script. He raised $180,000, including $20,000 of his own money (earned from the Paramount deal), to shoot Dreams of Glass independently over seven weeks in Southern California. Due to the film’s low budget, Clouse hired unknown actors, negotiated deferred-payment deals with laboratories and sound recording facilities, and employed technicians he had collaborated with on commercials, who were eager to work in film. The 18 Jan 1968 DV noted that Paramount would view a cut of the film when it was ready, probably in late Feb 1968, to decide whether or not to acquire distribution rights.
       On 23 Aug 1969, LAT announced that Universal Pictures had acquired worldwide distribution rights. Earlier that month, the 6 Aug 1969 Var noted that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) rated the film “M” (for mature audiences). Since crewmembers were a part of the National Association of Broadcast Employees & Technicians (NABET), as opposed to the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), the film was poised to be Universal’s first to carry a NABET seal, as noted in a 17 Jul 1969 DV article.
       Dreams of Glass premiered on 16 Aug 1970 at the 72nd Street Playhouse in New York City, a year after Universal’s involvement was announced. It was met with poor reviews. The 17 Aug 1970 NYT compared the picture unfavorably to Clouse’s Darker than Amber, which had opened in New York the prior week. Initial box-office earnings were paltry, and the 25 Aug 1970 DV stated that Dreams of Glass was pulled from the 72nd Street Playhouse after grossing only $1,048.
       A 7 Dec 1967 Los Angeles Sentinel item stated that some of H. B. Barnum’s music would be used in the film. Producers Sound Service provided dubbing, according to a 7 Jun 1968 DV brief.