Trivia

This movie marks the entry of the verb doodle (in the sense of absent-minded scribbling) into the English language. The word was coined for the movie by screenwriter Robert Riskin.

Jean Arthur never saw the film until she and Frank Capra were guests at a 1972 film festival.

Jean Arthur was so overcome with stage fright that she often vomited before scenes and would run back to her dressing room after each take to have a good cry. Yet she was totally cool on camera. Gary Cooper was one of the few actors who could make her feel comfortable on the set.

Columbia and Frank Capra intended to make a sequel to this movie, starring Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur, entitled "Mr. Deeds Goes to Washington", based on the story "The Gentleman from Wyoming" (alternately called "The Gentleman from Montana" by both contemporary and modern sources) by Lewis R. Foster. This story was instead turned into the 1939 film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), directed by Frank Capra and starring Arthur and James Stewart.

One way Frank Capra maintained control over his work was by refusing to shoot if any studio executives came on the set. Whenever Harry Cohn would come on set, Capra would call a half-hour coffee break. The lost time was so expensive, Cohn rarely showed his face.