Producer William Perlberg and director George Seaton acquired the film option to Samuel Taylor and Cornelia Otis’s play, The Pleasure of His Company, before it was produced, as reported in a 26 Feb 1958 NYT news item. The project was set up at Paramount Pictures, and the purchase price was said to be higher than $350,000. The following year, a 25 Feb 1959 NYT item stated that Samuel Taylor would begin work on the screenplay after completing an Alfred Hitchcock project entitled No Bail for the Judge. In a conflicting report, the 18 Jan 1960 DV stated that George Seaton would direct from his own script; however, only Taylor received screenwriting credit in the final film.
       The 25 Feb 1959 NYT announced that Fred Astaire and Lilli Palmer were in talks to star. A few months later, Debbie Reynolds’s casting was reported. The Pleasure of His Company was set to be part of a seven-picture deal Reynolds was forming with Paramount, according to the 28 Jul 1959 DV. Charlie Ruggles was the only member of the original Broadway cast to reprise his role in the film. Cast members also included Stephen Cheng, according to a 19 Nov 1959 DV item, and Janet Thomas, Florine Caplan, and Gae Gordon, who were cast as bridesmaids. The 10 Feb 1960 DV brief that announced their casting noted the three young women were the daughters of comedian Danny Thomas, production manager Harry Caplan, and the late writer-producer Leon Gordon, respectively.
       Principal photography began on 25 Jan 1960, as stated in a 15 Apr 1960 DV production chart. With several weeks of filming yet to be completed, a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) strike caused production to halt on 4 Mar 1960, according to items in the 1 Apr 1960 and 7 Nov 1960 DV. An eight-month hiatus followed. On 7 Nov 1960, DV reported that shooting had resumed four days earlier in San Francisco, CA, where nine days of exteriors were scheduled to be shot before cast and crew returned to the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Hollywood, CA. According to the 26 Oct 1960 DV, the remainder of the shoot was expected to last four-and-a-half weeks.
       A sneak preview was held in New Rochelle, NY, on 17 Mar 1961, the 18 Mar 1961 NYT noted. Two months later, a charity premiere was scheduled to take place on 12 May 1961 at the Directors Guild of America (DGA) Theater in Los Angeles, CA. A 7 May 1961 LAT item stated that the event would raise money for Resthaven, a psychiatric hospital for women. Theatrical release followed on 26 May 1961 in Los Angeles, where the film opened at the Paramount Hollywood Theatre. The picture was met with positive reviews.
       Fred Astaire won a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.