While Boris Karloff was filming his scenes, he had his customary 4:00 p.m. tea break, which he always had written into his contract. They became so popular that even Gary Cooper and Charles Chaplin came on set for tea, and Paulette Goddard had a 4:00 p.m. tea break written into her contracts for the rest of her career.
Film marked the 20th anniversary of Gary Cooper being a Paramount contract player. It was also his last film for the studio.
Gary Cooper got a salary of $300,000--double what he usually made--and a percentage of profits: 5% of the gross to $6 million and 10% above $6 million, with a minimum guarantee of $300,000.
Cecil B. DeMille became enraged at Paulette Goddard when she refused to do a stunt that required her to have fireballs thrown at her. DeMille was forced to use a stuntwoman, who got burned. Five years later when the director was making Die größte Schau der Welt (1952), he reportedly had his revenge by turning down Goddard's acceptance of a key role and replacing her with Gloria Grahame.
Features 25 name players and 4,325 costumed extras.
Edvard Persson: as an Indian. The famous Swedish actor was travelling through the US to make Jens Månsson i Amerika (1947) when he came to Hollywood and appeared in this film. The director, Cecil B. DeMille, reciprocated with a cameo appearance in Persson's movie.