William Holden never felt he deserved an Oscar for his performance in this film. His wife felt it was to compensate for him not winning for "Viale del tramonto (1950)."
Otto Preminger always claimed that, as a director, he would only shout at actors if they were late or if they did not know their lines. Employed solely as an actor in this film, he told Billy Wilder at the start of filming that if he ever forgot his lines, he would present Wilder with a jar of caviar. Wilder later told interviewers that he soon had dozens of such jars.
This film was one of the biggest hits of Billy Wilder's career. He expected a big piece of the profits. The studio accountants informed him that since his last picture "L'asso nella manica (1951)" lost money, the money that picture lost would be subtracted from his profits on this film. Wilder left "Paramount" shortly after that.
To improve the chances for commercial success in West Germany (at that time already an important market for Hollywood) a Paramount executive suggested to Billy Wilder that he should make the camp guards Poles rather than Germans. Wilder, whose mother and stepfather had died in the concentration camps, furiously refused and demanded an apology from the executive. When it didn't come, Wilder did not extend his contract at Paramount
William Holden did not like the part of Sefton as written, thinking him too selfish. He kept asking Billy Wilder to make Sefton nicer. Wilder refused. Holden actually refused the role but was forced to do it by the studio.
Ross Bagdasarian: uncredited soldier singing at the Christmas party. He is best known as a songwriter and the creator of Alvin and the Chipmunks.
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