The main manufacturers of cortisone at the time, Merck in the US and Glaxo in the UK, were worried about the impact of this film would have on the public and their willingness to take the drug if prescribed by their physician. However, by the time of this film's release, newer and better formulations of the drug, along with greater knowledge of its uses and limitations had reduced (but not eliminated) the side-effects experienced by Ed in this film.
The researchers at the Mayo Clinic who discovered cortisone and its medical application won the 1950 Nobel Prize for medicine.
The magazine article upon which this film is based, "Ten Feet Tall", was published in the September 10, 1955 edition of The New Yorker. It is about the actual case history of a Long Island school teacher in 1948 when the drug cortisone was new on the market.
Although not physically or psychologically addictive as other drugs, such as opiates, sudden and complete withdrawal of cortisone (and other steroids) can result in severe symptoms up to and including adrenal crisis which can be fatal. After long-term use of cortisone, a gradual tapering down of the dose over a period of weeks or months is necessary to allow the body's adrenal glands to resume their own production of cortisone.
Marilyn Monroe, who was friends with Nicholas Ray and shooting Bus Stop (1956) at an adjoining stage at 20th Century Fox, visited the set one afternoon. Ray talked her over to shoot a brief cameo as a nurse during a hospital sequence, but in the end, the scene was not shot because of her nervousness. The cameo was never intended to be included in the movie.