Richard Burton recorded in his diary a story he had heard Stewart Granger tell frequently about the movie: offered the lead role, Granger skimmed through the script, saw how little dialogue he had and rejected it, realizing his mistake later when the film transformed James Mason's career.
Most of the supporting cast was recruited from Dublin's Abbey Theatre.
The Crown Bar in the center of Belfast has long been associated with the movie, although, contrary to popular opinion, it was not used in the filming. Instead a copy was made on set in England. It shows all the familiar ornate features of the real thing but was more spacious and laid out in a different way.
The gang of street urchins in the film was played by children from the St. Patrick's Boys Home in Belfast.