Following the 29 Jan 1966 Broadway debut of the musical Sweet Charity, based on Federico Fellino’s 1957 film Notti di Cabiria (a.k.a. Nights of Cabiria), the 24 Oct 1966 DV announced that Universal Pictures had acquired screen rights and Shirley MacLaine had been cast in the role of “Charity Hope Valentine,” originated onstage by Gwen Verdon. Bob Fosse, Verdon’s husband and also the director and choreographer of the stage production, was set to make his feature film directorial debut on the project, as well as choreograph. Initial plans were made for a 1 Nov 1967 start of principal photography and an Oct 1968 theatrical release, the 7 Jul 1967 DV reported. According to a 25 Oct 1966 NYT item, Universal paid $500,000 for the option, in addition to ten percent of “either the gross receipts or the profits from the film after it has grossed $2.6 million.” By summer 1967, Ross Hunter was on board to produce, as stated in the 7 Jul 1967 LAT. However, creative differences between Hunter and Fosse soon led to his departure, which the 6 Nov 1967 DV reported. In a 7 Nov 1967 LAT article, Hunter was quoted as saying his decision to leave “was made without rancor and with the best interests of the picture in mind.”
       I. A. L. Diamond, who had previously co-written with Billy Wilder The Apartment (1960, see entry) and Irma La Douce (1963, see entry), both starring Shirley MacLaine, was enlisted to write the screen adaptation, the 20 Jul 1967 LAT announced. The following month, a 31 Aug 1967 DV brief stated that Diamond and Fosse were in disagreement over the direction of the script. While Diamond wanted to revert to the “original theme” of Notti di Cabiria, Fosse wanted to hew closer to the musical, which he had originally conceived. On 5 Sep 1967, DV reported that Diamond had been replaced by screenwriter Peter Stone.
       Paula Kelly, who was cast in the role of “Helene,” had previously played the part in a London, England, production of the musical Sweet Charity. Actresses who were considered for roles but not cast included Barbara McNair, Diahann Carroll, Leslie Uggams, and Lola Falana, according to the 30 Aug 1967 DV and 19 Oct 1967 Los Angeles Sentinel, while items in the 15 Mar 1968 and 17 May 1968 DV listed Red Robin and Lyle Behnke as cast members.
       Although an item in the 31 Jan 1968 DV stated that the character of “Vittorio Vitelli,” an Italian movie star, would be changed to a Frenchman named “Andre Vitel,” the Italian character was retained in the film.
       The 9 Nov 1967 Los Angeles Sentinel stated that rehearsals began that week at the Universal Pictures studio lot in Studio City, CA. Principal photography followed on 29 Jan 1968, as reported in a 2 Feb 1968 DV production chart. Within one month, Universal was said to be so pleased with Fosse’s work that a screening of early footage and a live exhibition of the musical number, “Rich Man’s Frug,” was staged for the press, according to a 26 Feb 1968 DV item, which also noted that a lengthy production schedule would prevent Fosse from directing Promises, Promises (New York City, 1 Dec 1968), a Broadway musical based on The Apartment. An article in the 6 Mar 1968 LAT mentioned that Gwen Verdon had been “on the set every day (at no pay) helping her husband direct the dance numbers.”
       With production still underway, the project was temporarily retitled Sweet Charity (The Adventures of a Girl Who Wants To Be Loved), as stated in an 11 Mar 1968 DV brief, which attributed the change to producer Robert Arthur. However, the film continued to be referred to in contemporary sources without the subtitle. On 14 May 1968, a DV item announced that production had ended at Universal the previous day, and would move to New York City for the remaining five weeks of shooting. Fifteen planned locations in New York were said to include an area of Wall Street, where the “I’m A Brass Band” sequence would be filmed. An alternate happy ending was also shot in New York, as noted in the 28 Jun 1968 DV. Although the original ending was retained, the alternate scene was eventually included on a DVD version released in 2003, the 1 Apr 2003 LAT noted.
       Production halted on 5 Jun 1968 following the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. Shirley MacLaine, who was reportedly “too shaken” to work, planned to attend Kennedy’s requiem mass and internment at Arlington National Cemetery on 8 Jun 1968, as noted in the 6 Jun 1968 and 7 Jun 1968 issues of DV. Filming was scheduled to resume the following Monday, 10 Jun 1968.
       An article in the 8 Jun 1968 LAT indicated that the picture cost $10 million, although a 7 Aug 1968 Var brief cited a lower budget of $8.5 million. In the 26 Feb 1969 LAT, Shirley MacLaine’s salary was listed as $1 million. In an interview in the 21 Jul 1985 LAT, Fosse lamented that Universal eventually represented the budget as $20 million, when the picture had only cost $8 million in actuality.
       Dual world premieres were slated to take place on 11 Feb 1969 at the Saxon and Gary theaters in Boston, MA, according to the 19 Dec 1968 DV, which claimed the events would mark the first time a “roadshow” release would premiere in Boston. Following the Boston debut, a 1 Apr 1969 premiere at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City was scheduled, as noted in the 21 Jan 1969 DV. On 29 Jan 1969, a positive review of a preview screening in DV stated that the first act, including a two-minute overture, ran eighty-three minutes, and was followed by a seventy-four-minute second act, which contained an overture and recessional, both three-and-a-half-minutes-long.
       Despite mixed reviews, Sweet Charity received Academy Award nominations for Art Direction, Costume Design, and Music (Score of a Musical Pictures—original or adaptation), and a Golden Globe Award nomination for Actress in a Leading Role – Musical or Comedy (Shirley MacLaine). Commercially, the film was unsuccessful, grossing only $1.1 million in film rentals, according to a 7 Jan 1970 Var box-office chart. The 21 Jul 1985 LAT later noted the picture’s failure almost cost Fosse his film directing career, but Fosse revisited the project when he directed a Broadway revival of the musical, starring Debbie Allen, that debuted on 27 Apr 1986 at the Minskoff Theatre.
       As reported in the 7 Aug 1968 Var, Universal brought a lawsuit for copyright infringement against Consolidated Cigar Co., the Lennen & Newell advertising firm, and Sweet Charity’s composer and lyricist, Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields, to enjoin a planned television commercial for Muriel Cigars that parodied the song “Hey, Big Spender.” Regarding the case, Universal executive Harry Garfield was quoted as saying, “When the music becomes associated with a product or is otherwise debased through parody or alteration, its value is substantially diminished.”
       The 16 Nov 1967 Los Angeles Sentinel stated that musical director Lennie Hayton worked on the film.
       The picture was shot in 35mm and blown up to 70mm for some roadshow presentations.