Although considerable publicity announced the return of Billie Dove to the screen in this film after a thirty year absence, her scenes ended up on the cutting room floor, and she is nowhere to be seen. This film would have been her last.
According to Charlton Heston in his book "In the Arena", this film was originally intended as a vehicle for Clark Gable in the late-1950s, which is why Heston's character retains the nickname "King".
The term 'Haole' (sounding like 'HOW-lee') is used several times in the early parts of the film. This is a Hawaiian term referring to people, primarily of European descent, who are not native Hawaiian. The term can be either simply descriptive, or can be used as a pejorative, depending on tone and context.
The story King Howland (Charlton Heston) tells about a tsunami that killed his wife and young son is based on a true event. On April 1, 1946, an earthquake in Alaska caused a huge tsunami (wave) to hit Hawaii. Much of the town of Hilo was destroyed and 159 people died , including children at a local school.