According to an interview with writer and director Jeb Stuart in Premiere magazine, he had originally intended to make this movie back in the 1980s, under the title "Going West in America", with Sidney Poitier, Robert Duvall, and Kevin Bacon in the three main roles.
In this film, as well as "Die Hard" (1988) there is a character who says "In my youth, in my youth." Both films were written by Jeb Stuart.
The film is considered a box office disappointment making $6 million in the United States against a budget of $38 million. It was one of many under-performing films for producer Rysher Entertainment, who shut down their movie unit the year Switchback was released. However, it should be noted that Rysher's movie unit had folded in July of 1997, several months before Switchback failed at the box office. As such, the film's eventual financial performance did not contribute to the closure.
The nudes in Bob's (Danny Glover) car are all of professional models, shot at a property in L.A.
The film was originally intended to be released during Christmas 1996, under the original title, "Going West In America." Because it wasn't ready in time for a release, the studio pushed it out to summer 1997, then delayed it again until Halloween 1997, due to an abundance of action-thrillers.