The notable picturesque island seen in the movie where "Summerfield" is situated was Churchill Island in Westernport Bay in Victoria, Australia.
The movie was racked with controversy upon theatrical release. Director Ken Hannam condemned it to the media of the day. Producer Patricia Lovell has said that "It was one of those films that has caused me a lot of sleepless nights since". The lead actors have also spoken of their mixed feelings about the movie. Interviews with them can be seen on the DVD. Nick Tate has said that "It's a film that, I think, was before its time in Australia" whilst John Waters maintains that "Its one of the Australian films that really has stood the test of time". Moreover, Elizabeth Alexander has said of this film: "I'm very sorry for everyone who was involved that it wasn't finally as great as we all hoped it would be. Because it certainly had the makings of that, the potential to be that and, of course, everyone wanted it to be that. But for me, it was just off the mark. I'm sorry to say that."
In the script initially, Nick Tate's character was intended to be a surfer but once Tate took the role the decision was made to make him a teacher.
This movie was filmed during February and March 1977.
A number of the production crew working on this picture worked on the earlier film Pique-nique à Hanging Rock (1975) marking this movie as somewhat of a reunion for them. This included producer Patricia Lovell, writer Cliff Green, composer Bruce Smeaton, associate producer Pom Oliver, first assistant director Mark Egerton and production designer Graham 'Grace' Walker.