Officially regarded as her final film before her death in 1969, Judy Garland filmed it immediately after making A Child Is Waiting (1963) though I Could Go on Singing (1963) was released first. At the time of filming, Garland was going through an ugly child custody battle of her own with her soon-to-be-divorced husband, Sidney Luft. The opportunity to make a film in England with Sir Dirk Bogarde, an actor and friend she had long admired, provided the perfect escape from her problems at home but unfortunately Garland carried her troubles with her across the Atlantic.
"It Never Was You" is noteworthy in that Judy Garland sang the entire song "live" on camera, rather than lip-sync it to a recorded track, as was the custom in movie musicals.
Costume Designer Edith Head was much criticized for the red dress Jenny Bowman (Judy Garland) wears to sing "By Myself," but she insisted that she had not designed it, nor been asked to approve it.
Originally, Judy Garland had recorded the tender ballad "It Never Was You" (music by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Maxwell Anderson) with full orchestral backing arranged and conducted by Mort Lindsey. When filming on a mock-up of the London Palladium stage, Miss Garland chose to sing live on the set, accompanied by just pianist Dave Lee. Capitol Records, in 2006, released her initial version on a CD collection called "The Essential Judy Garland." Her rendition used in this movie has been brought back on the CD soundtrack from the Collectables label.