Marlon Brando described Anna Magnani as being equally fiery and passionate off screen. He claimed she made a pass at him in a hotel before filming began.
Marlon Brando became the first actor to be paid $1 million for a single film, when he signed on to appear in this screen-adaptation of Tennessee Williams' "Orpheus Descending." Nearing the end of her contract with MGM, Elizabeth Taylor had earlier signed a $1-million contract with 20th Century-Fox to appear in Cléopâtre (1963), breaking that salary threshold in Hollywood.
Director Sidney Lumet always liked to rehearse his movies for at least two weeks before he would begin to film them. However, there was no rehearsal period for this film because Anna Magnani was unwilling to rehearse, since she did not like to. Therefore, after only a three-day rehearsal period, the filming of the movie began.
This was the first mainstream American film to feature the word "sonofabitch." This occurs at 56 minutes into the movie, with Joanne Woodward using the now-ubiquitous word.
The little Hudson River town of Milton, New York has a plaque from the production company for this film, thanking the city for its cooperation during the shoot. Even in the early 1970s, Milton had no traffic light on its main street and could still pass for a small town in the Deep South. Artists had studios in the "store." Tall ceilings allowed for suggestion of a second floor via a dummy staircase. The post office was one of the three attached storefronts.