Ranger Andy (1957) was a real program, airing on WFSB in Hartford. WFSB allowed the filmmakers to use the show, and clips from the program appear inter-cut with footage shot for the film.
Molly Ringwald speaks fluent Parisian French, and learned her French-Canadian accent for the film. Siobhan Cohen also learned her Russian, and her Russian accent for the film.
No Catholic church was available for filming, with St. Patrick's Cathedral falling through during the shoot, so Christ Episcopal Church was made to look like a Catholic church, and the confessional scene filmed on the stage, later used for the pageant. Christ Episcopal was very friendly to the production.
This is the first adaptation of a Wally Lamb novel for the screen. He collaborated with the crew through the entire production, and makes a cameo as the janitor in the opening scene.
The location for the Funicello home was a house that Wally Lamb rented for years as his office. He wrote the novel in the room that appears as Ma and Pa's bedroom. The house contains numerous references to "Bunny", the owner and landlady, who passed away before filming began.
Wally Lamb: as the janitor on the ladder in the opening scene. He is not very handy, and picked this cameo as a joke.
