This movie was filmed in the Summer of 1982 in Tunisa but was not first released until late March 1984. The home video release was in 1985.
The novel "Misunderstood" (published in 1869) had previously been adapted as the Italian film Misunderstood (1966), which starred Anthony Quayle. This version is set in Tunisia, while the Italian version was set in Florence, Tuscany.
The picture was originally scheduled to open during October 1983 according to an article published in the 1st July 1983 edition of 'The New York Times' newspaper. However, when the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists (MGM/UA) studio obtained the film's USA domestic distribution rights, its release stateside got deferred until late March 1984 opening on about the 30th of the month. This new release time-frame was announced in an article published in the 9th March 1984 edition of show-business trade-paper 'Daily Variety'.
First theatrical feature film that then young actor Henry Thomas was seen in after starring in his breakthrough film role in Steven Spielberg's blockbuster sci-fi film classic E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982).
The movie is set in Tunisia, North Africa where it was filmed. Tunisia is a former colony of the European nation of France where it was known as the French Protectorate of Tunisia. Actor Gene Hackman had starred about a dozen or thirteen years earlier in the multi Oscar (Academy Award) winning film The French Connection (1971).