On the film's audio commentary with director John Waters recorded for the movie's DVD release in 2004 he voiced his pleasure at having had audiences to go out and actually "pay to smell sh**."
First John Waters movie to garner an 'R' rating in the USA. All of Waters' previous pictures stateside had been X-rated or unrated.
In the scene where Todd Tomorrow (Tab Hunter) is standing around the car accident, real ambulances were used, and local people called the police, reporting an accident.
Final film where director John Waters would work with regular actresses Cookie Mueller and Edith Massey. The former was dying when Waters began production on his next film Hairspray (1988), while the latter passed away in 1984. Waters had plans to direct "Flamingos Forever", the scrapped sequel to Pink Flamingos (1972), but Massey's death (along with Divine longing for serious roles at the time) caused the sequel to be cancelled.
Rick Breitenfeld: As prominent ENT (Ear, Nose & Throat) specialist Dr. Quackenshaw explaining the Odorama scratch 'n' stiff card at the film's start.