The music was written by Sammy Fain with lyrics by Paul Francis Webster for the 1958 film of the same name, based on the novel, also titled A Certain Smile, by Françoise Sagan. Johnny Mathis, who appeared in the 1958 film as a bar singer, performing the title song. Mathis's recording, with backing orchestration by Ray Ellis and released in June 1958 (4-41193), backed with "Let It Rain".[2] The song reached number 4 on the UK Singles Chart and number 14 on the US chart.[3][4]