June Lockhart's first credited role (and second film). In addition, out of the four children starring in the movie, she was the only one to continue acting into adulthood.
In the 1946 cartoon short Hollywood Daffy (1946), a cartoon version of Bette Davis is seen entering the Warner Bros. studio lot talking to herself: "So, you say I'm mean to you. You say I'm mad, cruel, domineering. Well, you're right. I'm all this--and heaven, too".
The budget for this film was much higher than for a typical Warner Bros. production (the studio was infamous for cutting corners on every conceivable aspect of a picture). This time, however, studio head Jack L. Warner wanted a film that would give the kind of prestige to Warners that Gone with the Wind (1939) did to MGM, so he spared no expense in trying to achieve that goal.
Reportedly it took 40 minutes each day to dress Bette Davis in her historically-accurate costumes with several layers of undergarments and corsets to help her maintain the correct posture and movement.
Warner Bros. erected 67 sets for this movie, a record at the time.