According to news items, Lionel Barrymore was originally cast in the role of the codger "Thevenet" and Marlene Dietrich as the housekeeper, but Barrymore was sick and Dietrich wasn't interested. A MGM "Final Cast" list, dated Jun 1951, includes Mercedes McCambridge as "bit girl," but she was not in the film and the inclusion may have been made in error.
Louis Calhern (who plays Charles Thevenet) was married to actress Natalie Schafer from 1933-1942. One of his co-stars is Jim Backus, who went on to play opposite Schafer (as Mr. and Mrs. Howell) in the popular television comedy series, Gilligan's Island (1964).
This film bombed at the box office, resulting in a loss to MGM of $455,000 ($4.5M in 2018) according to studio records.