Bruce Byron worked as a motorcycle messenger in Manhattan. His zodiac sign was Scorpio, and so he called himself that, as well as carrying at all times the scorpion amulet which he is seen kissing and holding in the film. The honorable discharge certificate from the United States Marine Corps, on the wall above his bed, was his own, as were all the pictures of James Dean and Marlon Brando, of whom he was a big fan. He is seen reading the Sunday comics section from a newspaper, which really was his favorite thing to read. The newspaper clipping near his bed, with the headline "CYCLE HITS HOLE & KILLS TWO," was about an accident in Times Square that had killed one of his friends. Another friend, who worked in a medical-products factory in New Jersey, had supplied him with the pure methamphetamine powder which he snorts from his fingers during the "Heat Wave" sequence.
The bedroom in which the biker "Scorpio" (Bruce Byron) is seen, beginning with the "You Look like An Angel" sequence, was that person's actual apartment in Manhattan, which was full of Siamese cats. Kenneth Anger just brought in some lights and filmed whatever was there, just as it was. Byron owned a little black-and-white TV set which was switched on while Anger was filming, and the Marlon Brando motorcycle-gang movie L'équipée sauvage (1953) was actually playing on the television at the time, something that Anger has called a "magical coincidence." He filmed some images of the movie playing on the television, and later cut them into his own film.
The film was censored for indecency. The case went to the Supreme Court where it was ruled in Kenneth Anger's favor.
There are thirteen different songs on the soundtrack, all U.S. pop songs that were popular in the 1959-1964 period. Contrary to rumor, their use in this film was not "unlicensed." Kenneth Anger hired an attorney to get the legal rights to use all thirteen songs in a short-subject film. He paid a total of about $8000 (slightly over $50,000 in 2007 dollars) for all the music rights, around twice as much as the rest of the film cost him to make. It has been a good investment, because "Scorpio Rising" has consistently been his most popular and most rented film over the years.
Most of the young men in the film were Italian-Americans from Brooklyn who worked during the day at the Fulton Fish Market in Manhattan, (the central location for New York City's fish wholesalers), doing heavy physical labor. Their priorities in spending their money were: motorcycles first, girlfriends second! The man with a very muscular body in the "Blue Velvet" sequence was, however, a visiting biker from Canada.