This film was shot on location at the Hollywood Bowl and a nearby Indoor Set (soundstage) which would create continuity as in one shot the actors are on stage at the Hollywood Bowl then the next shot has them on a soundstage.
The film was filmed at the Hollywood Bowl which hosted the annual Easter Pageant known as "The Piligrimage Play". Nelson Leigh portrayed Christ Annually going back to his days as a senior at USC in 1925. Leigh has portrayed Christ and the Apostle Paul more than any other actor in a film/short subject. Ironically enough after Leigh stepped down after the 1949 production, Robert Wilson portrayed Christ for the remainder of the pageants until the early 1960's. Wilson portrayed Christ in the TV Mini Series "Living Christ Series", TV Film "I Beheld His Glory" and in "Day of Triumph".
The Crucifixion scene was filmed on a soundstage and both of the two thieves are given closeups while there are no closeups of Jesus on the Cross. It wouldn't be until the 1951 TV mini series that Jesus on the cross would be shown to American viewers in the "sound era".
Nelson Leigh would reprise his role as Jesus three years later in the TV series "The Living Bible". It would mark the final time he portrayed Christ on camera but in several shorts subjects and "Lost" films he would provide the voice of Jesus while Jesus is never seen on camera.