The film used 175 Korean War veterans as extras and actual Korean War footage is included.
The U.S. Army and Department of Defense had objected to a particular sequence in the film, namely where Col. Steve Janowski orders an artillery strike ahead of the Korean refugee column. RKO refused to remove the offending scene.
Claudette Colbert was first cast as Linda, but was replaced by Ann Blyth after Colbert contracted pneumonia.
John Mitchum, who plays a soldier in the picture, was Robert Mitchum's brother. This is the first film in which they appear together onscreen.
The main theme by Victor Young is occasionally whistled by Robert Mitchum in the movie. It was published as "When I Fall in Love" with lyrics by Edward Heyman. The song has become a standard, with many artists recording it, though the original hit version was the Doris Day recording issued in 1952. Another version was recorded by Nat 'King' Cole in 1956 on the Capitol LP, "Love Is the Thing". The single was released in the UK in 1957 and reached #2 on the UK Singles Chart. Cole also sang it in Istanbul (1957) and he is the singer now most closely associated with the song.