- Brian De Palma originally wanted Liv Ullmann to play Kate Miller, but she declined.
- Michael Caine's psychiatric office is located at 162 East 70th Street on Manhattan's Upper East Side.
- In the late 1970s, Brian De Palma wrote a screenplay based on Gerald Walker's article "Cruising", but was unable to obtain the rights to the material. Cruising, the story of a series of brutal murders in the gay New York underworld, was subsequently adapted and directed by William Friedkin, while De Palma fashioned some of the elements from his own Cruising screenplay into Dressed to Kill. Both films were released, to great controversy (and after numerous battles with the MPAA to avoid X ratings), in 1980.
- As a young man, De Palma, at his mother's urging, actually followed his father and used recording equipment to try and catch him with another woman. That incident inspired this film.
- The exteriors of the museum scene were shot in New York. The interiors however, were shot in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (note the griffin logo on the map Angie Dickinson checks, it's their logo). The large gorilla painting that she views (called 'Reclining Nude') now resides in the office of the wholesale and retail operations manager of the museum.
- In the Angie Dickinson shower scene, a body double is used.
- Angie Dickinson said the scene where her character gets seduced in the back of a cab was filmed on location in New York, where several gawkers observed the scene and shouted, "Right on, Police Woman!" (referring to her previous TV role).
- Average Shot Length = ~6.5 seconds. Median Shot Length = ~5.9 seconds.
- Sean Connery was offered the role of Robert Elliott by Brian De Palma, and was enthusiastic about it, but declined on account of previously acquired commitments.
- In 1982 "Dressed To Kill" had its television broadcast premier on NBC. During this broadcast, the following dialog slipped past the censors and was aired to millions: Dr. Elliot: How's your sex life, Lieutenant? Det. Marino: What the fuck business is it of yours?
- Angie Dickinson said on The Tonight Show that of all the movies she was in, 'Dressed To Kill' is her favorite.
>>> WARNING: Here Be Spoilers <<<
Trivia items below here contain information that may give away important plot points. You may not want to read any further if you've not already seen this title.
- SPOILER: In all scenes except the finale in Dr Elliott's office, Bobbi is actually played by Susanna Clemm, who also portrays detective Luce.
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