Tennessee Williams stated that this was the best movie version of any of his plays that was ever produced. The rest of the world did not seem to agree, for the monumentally expensive production bombed at the box office.
Christopher Flanders, as envisioned, was a young poet, and Richard Burton was considered by most to be terribly miscast, as well as too old for the part. The failure of this movie seriously damaged Dame Elizabeth Taylor's standing at the box office, though Burton had another major hit with Agenten sterben einsam (1968) after the fiasco of its drubbing by critics and movie audiences.
James Fox was originally supposed to play Chris Flanders, but Dame Elizabeth Taylor insisted that her husband Richard Burton be cast instead. This was despite the fact that at 42, Burton was much older than the twenty-something character.
The first mainstream British movie to include the expletive "shit" in its dialogue.
The movie is based on the Tennessee Williams play "The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore", which failed on Broadway, closing on March 16, 1963, after just sixty-nine performances. It starred Hermione Baddeley (Flora Goforth), Mildred Dunnock (Vera Ridgeway Condotti), and Paul Roebling (Christopher Flanders). Director Tony Richardson, hot after the release of his movie Tom Jones (1963), directed the revival that opened with Tallulah Bankhead as Mrs. Goforth and Tab Hunter as Chris in January 1964. The revival was a flop, closing after just five performances. The failures of "Milk Train" signaled the end of Williams' success as a playwright.