The film was never released in France because the French government at the time deemed the film's prologue too harsh towards France. The French Consul-General in Los Angeles, Romain Gary, asked producer / director Samuel Fuller to change the film's prologue but Fuller refused.
Victor Young had begun composing the film score when he died on November 10, 1956 at age 57. His friend Max Steiner, borrowed from Warner Bros., then shaped Mr. Young's notations and completed the score. The screen credit reads: "Music by Victor Young, extended by his old friend Max Steiner". The title song, written by Victor Young and lyricist Harold Adamson, was sung twice in the picture by Nat 'King' Cole, whose commercial recording with Nelson Riddle and His Orchestra became the B-side of a Capitol single. On the A-side was the clever novelty, "When Rock and Roll Come to Trinidad" (music by Marvin Fisher, lyrics by Roy Alfred).
French colonial rule in Indochina (Vietnam) took place from the 19th century until the Second World War, when Vietnam was invaded by Japan. The resistance movement against the Japanese was led by the Communist Viet Minh which, at the war's end, declared Vietnam's independence. The French refused to accept that and fought to re-establish colonial rule. The French Indochina War, conducted with some American aid, lasted until 1954, when France admitted defeat. In 1955 the Republic of Vietnam, administered from Saigon, was proclaimed in the south, while the north, ruled from Hanoi, remained in Communist hands. By April 1956 French forces completely withdrew from Vietnam.
The movie begins in Son Toy. In November of 1970 American special forces raided a POW camp in Son Tay, unfortunately, there were no prisoners in the camp.