During filming, Una Merkel rescued a movie prop man named Arthur Camp from drowning at Lake Arrowhead, California, when the backwash from her motorboat upset his skiff. She caught his suspenders with a boat hook and held him until help arrived from the shore. Camp was unable to swim.
Eleanor Fisher (who played the 'Reporter') won her part in this film after being crowned 'Miss Typical America' in a nationwide competition. At the time of the announcement, she appeared in a number of high-profile advertisements for Maybelline cosmetics. It was her only film role.
The producer of Nothing Sacred (1937) David O. Selznick was concerned that the release of True Confession (1937) would harm the box office of his film since both starred Carole Lombard and the other film has her in a well-publicized hoax.
Though the song "True Confession," with music by Friedrich Hollaender (as Frederick Hollander) and lyrics by Sam Coslow, is listed in the credits, the song itself is never performed in the film, though its melody is incorporated into Hollander's background score.
Carole Lombard successfully lobbied that her friend and costar from Twentieth Century (1934), John Barrymore, be cast in the "Charley Jasper" role and be given star billing. Barrymore, billed third, however, doesn't appear until 42 minutes into the film.