The story was inspired by the crash of a C-53 Skytrooper on the Gauli Glacier in the Bernese Alps, Switzerland, on November 19,1946. All eight passengers and four crew survived despite injuries. The unprecedented international co-operation in the rescue effort provided a morale boost to post-war Europe and led to a complete re-thinking of air rescue procedure. The renowned Swiss Air Rescue Guard was then formed in 1952.
Shooting took fourteen weeks to complete.
The film reportedly lost £63,900. It did poorly because it came out eighteen months after the events that inspired it had been headline news.
The wartime experiences of character 'Joseph Romer' that he relates, echo the persecution by the Nazis of actor Gerard Heinz who plays him.