Scenically, the water ballet from this picture was one of the most elaborate of Esther Williams' career, providing a 180-degree vista through two sets - the floral lagoon that marks her entrance, and the lavish high cliff from which Howard Keel's character dives into the water. The underwater section of the ballet uses seven separate 'rooms' linked photographically to create the illusion that Williams remains below sea level without rising for air. Decades after the fact, this number provided a lavish centerpiece for the Esther Williams tribute sequence in That's Entertainment! (1974).
The melody to the song "The House Of Singing Bamboo" was actually written in 1945 by Harry Warren for the MGM picture The Harvey Girls (1946), which starred Judy Garland. The song was called "Hayride" and it originally had lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The song was cut from the picture. In 1950, the Mercer lyrics were dumped and the melody was changed slightly for use in this picture.
Van Johnson and Cyd Charisse were the first choices for the leads, but Cyd Charisse was pregnant at the time. A new screenplay was then written for Esther Williams to star in.
Adding to this troubled production's challenges, Howard Keel broke his right arm just as filming began. As the company was already on location, and Keel had prerecorded the score, shooting could not be delayed, so Keel's first scene, on a bicycle performing "Singing in the Sun," was shot with a towel covering the cast on his arm. The song's conclusion, wherein Keel falls off the bicycle into a lagoon, was filmed many weeks later.