Catherine Deneuve plays a call-girl in this movie. Deneuve was famous for doing the same previously in Luis Buñuel's Belle de jour (1967). During the 1970s, Denueve was quoted in the UK film magazine "Photoplay" that all she does is play prostitutes.
Original promotional artwork for this film seen on movie posters and video slicks shows a red silhouette of a woman's body almost form part of the letter E of the movie's red-lettered '"HUSTLE"' title. The image merges with the character at the bottom right corner of the letter E. The intention is that the image is a dead body, as per the film's police crime story.
Director Robert Aldrich once said of this film: "This isn't the first police story, nor the last. What is unique is the fascinating variety of characters, multi-faceted, and interesting in depth."
The movie was produced by Robert Aldrich and Burt Reynolds under their RoBurt company. The company name is an amalgam of their first names, Ro (for Robert) and Burt.
Ernest Borgnine's sixth and final film for Robert Aldrich.
Robert Englund: The "A Nightmare on Elm Street" franchise star as "Hold-up Man". This was Englund's third film.