The exterior of the mansion where the main characters confront each other with guns, as well as the empty pool in which they sit and discuss their lives, previously appeared in Viale del tramonto (1950). The pool had been built specially for the earlier film, as a condition of renting the property from its owner, Mrs. Jean Paul Getty.
James Dean died on September 30, 1955, nearly a month before this film was released on October 27, 1955.
James Dean was injured several times while shooting the switchblade fight, during which a real weapon was used.
The opening scene in the movie with Jim Stark and the toy monkey was improvised by James Dean after the production had been shooting for nearly 24 hours straight. He asked Nicholas Ray to roll the camera, that he wanted to do something. Ray obliged and the improvisation went on to become the famous opening scene.
James Dean got angry when Nicholas Ray stopped the knife fight scene after noticing that Dean had been cut on the ear and was bleeding. Dean said, "Don't you ever cut a scene while I'm having a real moment."