Film debut of Burt Lancaster. Although this was his first film--at 33 years of age--he received top billing.
Ernest Hemingway, author of the original short story, liked the film. Prior to its release, producer Mark Hellinger sent publicity man Al Horwits to Sun Valley, ID, to give Hemingway a private screening. Hemingway had a pint of gin in one pocket of his overcoat and a pint of water in the other so that he could sip from them if the film got bad. After the screening, Hemingway held up the full bottles, grinned, and said, "Didn't need 'em."
The entire Prentiss Hat Co. robbery was filmed with one camera and no cuts. It required quick coordination among dozens of people and several vehicles.
Virginia Christine, who plays Swede's girlfriend before he meets Kitty, also appeared in the remake, The Killers (1964), in a different role as a blind secretary.
The boxing match in the third flashback was filmed in a boxing arena for an audience of 2000 spectators. Burt Lancaster trained for two months with a boxing champion and played the part of the Swede with realism, against a real boxer, until his second KO and TKO.