The 41-year-old Burt Lancaster performed all but one of the trapeze stunts himself, having worked in a circus before entering films. He insisted on doing the climactic triple somersault, but technical adviser Eddie Ward initially was hesitant on Lancaster performing the stunt, and Ward doubled for him during the first weeks of shooting. Director Sir Carol Reed eventually hired Lancaster's longtime friend, stuntman Nick Cravat to perform the stunt.
The script removed a homosexual twist from the novel: Orsini is executed for murdering a woman who left him for Ribble, but the real killer proves to be Ribble who wanted Orsini.
Sally Marlowe was cast as Gina Lollobrigida's stunt double until Marlowe broke her nose on set. Willy Krause, a close personal friend of Burt Lancaster, was asked to fill in as Ms. Lollobrigida's stunt double. He accepted the role.
The stuntwoman for Gina Lollobrigida died after suffering a broken back from a forty-foot fall during the film's production.
Was the third highest grossing film of 1956.