MGM's only feature film photographed in Cinecolor.
The Bible verse Smitty quotes at the end of the film is from Matthew 17:20.
This film failed at the box office, resulting in a loss to MGM of $196,000 ($2.3M in 2018) according to studio records.
The ship in the film that carries Tex overseas and is depicted as unloading the construction equipment on the island is the U.S.S. LST-119. Commissioned in 1943 she earned two battle stars in WWII for the invasions of the Marshall and Marianas Islands in 1944. She was decommissioned in 1946 and sold to an oil company in 1948 for use as a barge. Over 1,000 of these type ships were built during the war.
This film was first telecast in Los Angeles on KTTV (Channel 11) Friday 17 May 1957, followed by Chicago 13 July 1957 on WBBM (Channel 2), by both Seattle and Norfolk VA 18 July 1957 on KING (Channel 5) and on WTAR (Channel 3), by Memphis 24 July 1957 on WHBQ (Channel 13), by Portland OR 25 July 1957 on KGW (Channel 8), by Philadelphia 10 November 1957 on WFIL (Channel 6), by Minneapolis 20 November 1957 on KMGM (Channel 9) and by Altoona PA 7 December 1957 on WFBG (Channel 10); in New York City it was initially shown 10 November 1958 on WCBS (Channel 2), and in San Francisco 14 October 1958 on KGO (Channel 7) . At this time, color broadcasting was in its infancy, limited to only a small number of high rated programs, primarily on NBC and NBC affiliated stations, so these film showings were all still in B&W. Viewers were not offered the opportunity to see this one in its original Cinecolor glory until several years later.