Director David Mickey Evans had one clear instruction for Chauncey Leopardi during the pool scene when he kisses Wendy Peffercorn: "keep your tongue in your mouth."
In order to establish the close bond between Smalls and Benny, the director had Tom Guiry and Mike Vitar meet and rehearse together weeks before the rest of the kids showed up to film. It worked so well that the other kids genuinely believed the two actors had been friends for a long time. To this day, Tom Guiry and Mike Vitar remained friends and kept in touch with each other since filming for this movie ended.
Every time a scene features Wendy Peffercorn, a song by the group The Drifters is played. The songs are There Goes My Baby and This Magic Moment.
In Benny's dream, Babe Ruth says "I don't know why, but can I have this?" when referring to Hank Aaron's baseball card. Hank Aaron would go on to break Babe Ruth's all-time home run record.