According to information in the Twentieth Century-Fox Records of the Legal Department, located at the UCLA Arts--Special Collections Library, in Nov 1942, the studio advanced $62,500 to Michael Todd and Savoy Productions for production of the musical, then purchased the screen rights to it in 1943. Although the legal records give the purchase price as $265,000, a 12 Mar 1943 HR news item lists the amount paid by Fox as $305,000. Per the agreement with Todd, Fox could not release the film until at least the summer of 1944, which, as HR noted, was to "enable the stage original to play the key cities and tour without competition from the celluloid version." Only one of Cole Porter's songs for the musical was included in the film version. HR news items note that William Perlberg was originally slated to produce this film, Irving Cummings was to direct it and Betty Grable was to star in it. In Jan 1944, Bruce Humberstone was assigned to direct the picture and Brenda Marshall was set for the female lead. According to HR, Humberstone auditioned The Jeepers, a seven-piece novelty orchestra, but they do not appear in the finished film. Although a 23 Feb 1944 HR news item noted that dance director Nick Castle was working with Carmen Miranda to prepare a "four-movement, symphonic treatment" of the popular song "Mairzy Doats," the number was not included in the film. In Apr 1944, HR noted that Scott Elliott had been tested for the film, but his participation in the finished picture has not been confirmed. Although a HR news item and studio press releases include Billie Seward, Stanley Prager, Chester Conklin, Harry Seymour and Jo-Carroll Dennison in the cast, they do not appear in the completed film. The picture marked the screen debuts of popular singer Perry Como and actor Rory Calhoun, who appeared under the name Frank McCown. Modern sources also include Judy Holliday in the cast. A studio credit sheet lists the film's running time as 78 min.
       According to information in the legal records and the Twentieth Century-Fox Produced Scripts Collection, the following writers worked on various versions of the screenplay: Harry Segall, Marian Spitzer, Eddie Welch, Snag Werris, Samuel Hoffenstein and Betty Reinhardt. The extent of their contributions to the completed film has not been confirmed, however. Notes from a 12 Jan 1944 studio conference reveal that production head Darryl F. Zanuck wanted the same writers who wrote Greenwich Village, a 1944 Twentieth Century-Fox picture starring Carmen Miranda, to write Miranda's dialogue for this film, because "they wrote especially for her, with mispronunciations, etc., and she is very funny when she is given this style of writing." The Greenwich Village screenwriters did not contribute to Something for the Boys, but Miranda's trademark mangling of the English language is included in the film. The studio records also note that the "Southland Routine," which is performed by Phil Silvers, includes excerpts from the following songs: "Southland" by Silvers, Harold Adamson and Jimmy McHugh; "Dixie's Land" by Dan Emmet; "All Over God's Heaven," traditional spiritual; "Shortnin' Bread," words by Jacques Wolfe, music traditional; "Indian Dance" by Urban Theilman; and "Climin' Up Dem Golden Stairs" by McHugh and Adamson. The studio records contain letters from songwriters Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn, who stated that the "Southland Routine" was based on their work. In early 1945, Twentieth Century-Fox paid the composers three thousand dollars not to pursue their claim. According to a 3 Feb 1943 HR news item, owners of the radio show The Court of Missing Heirs filed an infringment of copyright lawsuit against the producers and owners of the play Something for the Boys. The owners of the radio program alleged that the play infringed on their show's premise. The disposition of the suit is unknown.