Documentary-style interviews with fictitious older couples are interspersed throughout the film. The couples talk about how they met and the nature of love. “Harry Burns” and “Sally Albright” appear in the final interview, discussing their slow-to-start relationship and wedding.
       Video Images’ Greg McMurry’s name is misspelled “Greg McMurray” onscreen. End credits include the following statements: “Clip from Casablanca provided by Turner Entertainment Co.; Dick Clark New Year’s Rockin’ Eve courtesy of Dick Clark Media Archives”; “Air transportation and landing footage provided by United Airlines”; “Filmed at Silvercup Studios, New York City and Hollywood Centre Studios, Hollywood, California”; and, “Producers wish to thank: Tina Nielsen and Jay Cooper; The University of Chicago; The Buffalo Bill Football Organization; NFL Films; CD BANZAI! LOS ANGELES; Ronnie Davis and The Washington Street Cafe Caterers; and the New York City Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting for their support in making this film.”
       End credits also include “A special thanks to Sol Horn for his inspiration.” Sol Horn, as noted in a 9 Jul 1989 NYT article, was the father of Alan Horn, Rob Reiner’s partner at Castle Rock Entertainment. Sol Horn’s anecdote about spotting his wife of fifty years across the room at a restaurant and declaring that he would marry her before they met was used in the screenplay. Likening his own story to Sol Horn’s, Reiner stated that director of photography Barry Sonnenfeld introduced him to his second wife, photographer Michele Singer, on the set of When Harry Met Sally… Before making the introduction, Sonnenfeld predicted Reiner and Singer would get married.
       Working titles included Boy Meets Girl; Harry, This Is Sally; and It Had To Be You, as noted in various contemporary sources including the 28 Apr 1988 DV, 20 Jul 1988 Var, and 20 Mar 1989 HR, which stated that the title It Had To Be You was already taken by an upcoming release starring Joe Bologna (1989, see entry).
       The film marked Reiner’s fifth directorial effort and the first to be produced by his recently launched production company, Castle Rock Entertainment. The idea originated during a lunch between writer Nora Ephron, Reiner, and producer Andrew Scheinman in 1985, when the three exchanged stories about their dating lives. As stated in a 16 Jul 1989 LAT article, Reiner, who had been divorced from actress-director Penny Marshall for several years, expressed his theory that sexuality inevitably complicated friendships between women and men, and Ephron agreed. Ephron mined Reiner’s personal anecdotes as well as her own and based the characters Harry Burns and Sally Abright on Reiner and herself, rendering the film “autobiographical in spirit if not in fact.” A 25 Jul 1989 Austin American Statesman article described the script as a collaboration between Reiner, Scheinman, and Ephron, although Ephron receives sole credit.
       Although Reiner’s longtime friend, Billy Crystal, provided feedback on the script, Reiner first offered the role of Harry Burns to Tom Hanks, Richard Dreyfuss, and Albert Brooks, according to a 24 Jul 1989 People item. When Crystal was finally offered the part, he said yes without conferring with his agents or managers – a first for the actor-comedian. Crystal’s contributions to the script included the scene in which Harry runs into his ex-wife, “Helen Hillson,” and the line, “I’ll have what she’s having,” delivered by Rob Reiner’s mother, actress and jazz singer Estelle Reiner. The line became a trademark for the film and inspired the song, “I’ll Have What She’s Having,” written by Leonard Feather for Estelle Reiner, which she included in her nightclub act, as noted in a 5 Mar 1990 People item.
       The budget was cited as $14-16 million in the 26 Jun 1989 HR, 16 Jul 1989 LAT, and 2 Aug 1989 Var. Principal photography began 29 Aug 1988, as noted in a 20 Jul 1988 Var production chart. New York locations included Central Park and the Loeb Boathouse, where Sally’s lunch with “Marie” and “Alice” was filmed; the Puck Building, which served as the locale for two New Year’s Eve parties and Marie and “Jess’s” wedding; Giants Stadium; a loft in SoHo, which stood in for Harry’s apartment; and Katz’s Deli on the Lower East Side, where the scene in which Sally fakes an orgasm was filmed. According to a 29 Sep 2004 The Times (London) article, Katz’s Deli became a draw for tourists after the film’s release, and a sign was hung from the ceiling pointing to the table where Meg Ryan and Crystal sat. Filming also took place in Los Angeles, CA.
       According to a 4 Aug 1989 LAT brief, Meg Ryan tested over 600 pairs of eyeglasses at Starry Eyes in Burbank, CA, before choosing a vintage Robert La Roche pair worn by shop owner Cheryl Shuman, for her character. After the film’s release, Shuman received hundreds of requests for the glasses from film fans.
       The first test screening took place 31 Mar 1989 in Pasadena, CA, as noted in the 16 Jul 1989 LAT. A one-scene trailer for the film, showing Sally’s fake orgasm scene, earned an R-rating, according to a 5 Aug 1989 LAT item.
       As stated in a 17 Jul 1989 LAT news item, the Los Angeles premiere took place at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, followed by a party at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. $42,000 was raised for Comic Relief, which the charity planned to allocate to the L.A. Homeless Healthcare Project. A Royal premiere in London, England, took place 30 Nov 1989, according a 27 Nov 1989 DV item, and raised £50,000 for Turning Point, Inc., a drug rehabilitation program.
       The film grossed $1.1 million in its opening weekend at forty-one theaters in New York; Los Angeles; Toronto, Ontario; Seattle, WA; Denver, CO; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Dallas and Houston, TX; and Washington, D.C, according to a 19 Jul 1989 HR “Hollywood Report” column. The release was set to expand to 800 theaters the following weekend, and 1,200 screens on 4 Aug 1989. When Harry Met Sally… was the first to receive an A+ CinemaScore rating since that polling service’s 1979 inception, with 99.6% of opening-day pollees predicting other viewers would like the film.
       The 27 Nov 1989 DV reported total box-office earnings as $90 million, to that time, with an estimated $50 million or more expected from foreign territories. The film ultimately took in $93 million in domestic box-office receipts, and $100 million overseas, as stated in a 15 Feb 1991 DV brief, which announced that Castle Rock was sending out its first profit participation checks on the film.
       Critical reception was largely positive, although some reviewers criticized the film for mimicking the style of Woody Allen. Nora Ephron won a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award for Original Screenplay, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Writing (Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen); a Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay – Motion Picture; and a Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) Award for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen.
       A 14 Jul 1989 LAHExam item noted that distributor Columbia Pictures and Castle Rock Entertainment paid $40,000 to use Frank Sinatra’s “It Had To Be You” in the film. However, the song was not included in the movie’s soundtrack album, as soundtrack rights would have cost another $40,000.
       A stage adaptation debuted 20 Feb 2004 at the Theater Royal in London, England, as stated in a 26 Feb 2004 DV review. Luke Perry and Alyson Hannigan starred as Harry and Sally, but after lackluster critical reception, the roles were re-cast in summer 2004, with Michael Landes and Molly Ringwald in the leading roles, according to a 12-18 Jul 2004 Var article.
       When Harry Met Sally… was ranked #6 on AFI’s 2008 list of the Top 10 Romantic Comedies; #23 on AFI’s 2000 list, 100 Years...100 Laughs; #25 on AFI’s 2002 list, 100 Years...100 Passions; #33 on AFI’s 2005 list, 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes, for the line, “I’ll have what she’s having”; and “It Had To Be You,” as performed by Harry Connick, Jr., was named #60 on AFI’s 2004 list, 100 Years...100 Songs.