To maintain the play's theatricality, director Anthony Asquith opened his film version by having a couple enter a theatre box. Their programs were used to display the film's opening credits, and the curtain rose on the rest of the film.

The Importance of Being Earnest was shot in England's Pinewood Studios.

The Importance of Being Earnest was Asquith's first film in Technicolor.

In keeping with the film's theatrical origins, Asquith shot it mostly in sequence and used long takes to let the actors develop the rhythms of Oscar Wilde's dialogue.

Edith Evans had problems adjusting to film acting, particularly when it came to hitting her marks on the floor. She finally told Asquith, "I always feel the camera should come to me instead of me go to the camera."

Insecure in her first film, Dorothy Tutin kept requesting retakes until producer Teddy Baird told her how much each new take cost.

by Frank Miller