Claude Jarman Jr. made the picture on his summer vacation from college. He is quoted in "Growing Up On The Set" by T. and J. Goldrup as saying it was one of the worst pictures ever made. He became friends with Fred MacMurray, who would occasionally shake his head and ask, "Why am I in this movie?".
Filmed in Mono Lake, CA, the volcano was constructed on a small island and much of it remains. It's used as a base by researchers to study the local seabird population.
Leonteen Danies's debut.
Italian censorship visa # 13656 delivered on 27 March 1953.