The film was based on the 1959 novel Pioneer, Go Home! by Richard P. Powell, and producer Walter Mirisch retitled the picture Follow That Dream after liking the song of the same name.

According to the film's account, the title Follow That Dream was chosen because the songwriters allegedly could not find a rhyme for the word 'pioneer'.

Author Richard P. Powell was initially unhappy that Elvis Presley had been cast in the lead role, but changed his mind after seeing the finished film, feeling Presley had performed well.

Filming began on July 11, 1961 in northwestern-central Florida, in the counties of Citrus, Marion and Levy, including the towns of Inverness, Ocala, Inglis and Yankeetown.

The courtroom scene was shot in the 1912 Citrus County Old Courthouse in Inverness, and the film footage later served as the only surviving record used to help restore the courtroom to its original configuration.

Yankeetown commemorates Presley's stay there with a highway called Follow That Dream Parkway, which opened on July 27, 1996 thanks to the efforts of four Presley fans.

During filming, Elvis Presley met a 10-year-old Tom Petty, whose uncle was involved in the production; shortly afterward Petty traded his slingshot for a friend's collection of Presley records.

Director Gordon Douglas praised Presley's acting, saying 'Elvis was a damned good actor and played some damned good scenes... He could do more than sing,' while also admitting he never understood why the film was titled Follow That Dream, joking it sounded like a Doris Day picture.