The final sequence was filmed in color, to better show off the supposedly solid gold Cadillac driven by Laura (Judy Holliday) and McKeever (Paul Douglas). The sequence was shot on location in Rockefeller Center in New York City. When prints of the film subsequently were struck for television broadcast, the color was not reproduced satisfactorily; so as to save on expenses, for several decades, this sequence was seen on television only in black and white. The original color print finally was restored for home video in the 1990s and is now also shown on cable television as originally filmed.
Judy Holliday and Paul Douglas starred together on Broadway in "Born Yesterday". Holliday was cast in the film, but Douglas' role was played in Born Yesterday (1950) by Broderick Crawford.
The Broadway production of "The Solid Gold Cadillac" by Howard Teichmann and George S. Kaufman opened at the Belasco Theater on November 5, 1953, ran for 526 performances and closed on February 12, 1955.
Though only his voice is heard in this film, this was George Burns' first movie work in over 15 years since Honolulu (1939); he would not have a movie role again for nearly 20 years (The Sunshine Boys (1975)).
The dramatic monologue "Spartacus to the Gladiators [at Capua]" by Elijah Kellogg that Edward McKeever recites in Laura Partridge's office is a real piece of rhetoric, dating from 1842, that was very popular in the late 19th century. What McKeever recites, however, is much abridged from the original.
This monologue was also in the play by Teichmann and Kaufman, and it was included because one of Kaufman's earliest collaborators, Marc Connelly, used to perform the piece - with gestures - for friends (for its comedic effect).
This monologue was also in the play by Teichmann and Kaufman, and it was included because one of Kaufman's earliest collaborators, Marc Connelly, used to perform the piece - with gestures - for friends (for its comedic effect).