Richard Burton was once threatened with a gun by Stewart Granger because of the affair he was having with Granger's wife Jean Simmons during filming.
The sequel, Les gladiateurs (1954), was put into production before this film had been released; the studio didn't know whether it, or CinemaScope, would be successful.
Richard Burton had a ferocious argument with 20th Century-Fox studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck before the film's release. This was another reason why he decided to return to London's West End theater district rather than remain in Hollywood.
Richard Burton hated making the film so much that he turned down a contract from 20th Century-Fox. He was amazed to receive an Oscar nomination after critics had almost universally described his performance as "wooden". He later said the film made him want to "throw up" and that it "was lousy, but an almighty hit. I was dull as ditchwater and an almighty flop." Still, Burton would make more films at Fox than at any other studio.