When Sean Connery agreed to return as James Bond in Les diamants sont éternels (1971), as part of his deal, United Artists had to back two movies of his choice that would cost $2 million or less. This was to be the first; a Connery-directed version of "Macbeth" was to be the second. When this movie failed at the box office and Roman Polanski beat Connery to the screen with Macbeth (1971), Connery's version of "Macbeth" was cancelled.
The movie took just one month to film, at a low cost of $1 million. Despite this, and excellent notices, it failed to make any profit for nine years. It went unreleased in several countries, including the major market of France.
Although he is second billed, Trevor Howard (Detective Superintendent Cartwright) does not appear until 1 hour and 9 minutes into the film.