Joan Crawford was given complete freedom, without guidance or supervision, to develop her own make-up, hair and costumes for the film.
This film marked Joan Crawford's return to MGM after a ten year absence. She was previously under contract to MGM from 1925-1943.
"Torch Song" was filmed in only 24 days.
In the song-and-dance number "Two-Faced Woman" (music by Arthur Schwartz, lyrics by Howard Dietz), Joan Crawford performs in blackface. Crawford's singing voice was dubbed by India Adams, whose pre-recording was originally intended for Cyd Charisse in The Band Wagon (1953). The song-and-dance performance by Charisse - with Oscar Levant on piano - was dropped from the film. However, the footage appears on the DVD release from Warner Home Video. In That's Entertainment! III (1994), the Charisse and Crawford versions are compared via split screen.
The film marks the first of two times Maidie Norman played someone who works for Joan Crawford. The second time was nine years later in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962).