The elephant stampede sequence in the film was reshot in Hollywood using a trained elephant, as the footage of the actual stampede in Africa was lost when the cast and crew of the film fled from the deadly rush of the animals.
While filming on location in Carlsbad National Park's New Cave, Deborah Kerr took her lipstick and wrote the initials "DK" on a cave formation near the Klansman formation that was used as a background. An electrician also took a burned out lamp and tossed it in a hole under that formation. Since the cave is still 'active', meaning the formations are still slowly being encased in more minerals, the initials and the lamp are now solidly encased in a layer limestone that is thin enough to see through but thick enough to prevent removal. The Carlsbad Park Rangers refer to the "DK" as the Deborah Kerr formation. Both are still visible to this day.
The dramatic ceremonial dance in Umbopa's village is known as the Tutsi Lion Dance, and is still in practice.
This marked the first time the Watusi tribe allowed themselves to be filmed.
The scene in which Deborah Kerr cuts her own hair and then cuts to her sunning with a perfectly coiffed hairstyle got such a big laugh at the initial screenings of the film that producers debated removing the scene. However, they couldn't figure out another way to explain Kerr's change of hairstyle, so they kept the improbable scenes intact.