Richard Widmark's scenes were shot separately from everyone else's. He insisted on doing everything in his scenes himself (where a stand-in might otherwise be used) such as reverse/over-the-shoulder shots or just picking up a telephone. Melvyn Douglas was the same.
Robert Aldrich turned down a large salary and a 10% profit stake in Un pont trop loin (1977) in order to make this film.
All of the scenes were shot with two cameras running.
Burt Lancaster initially turned the script down when he was first approached about the project, but eventually agreed to do it after Robert Aldrich became attached to the picture.