The statue of Ava Gardner used in the film was by Bulgarian artist Assen Peikov. After the film Frank Sinatra bought the statue and installed it in the garden of his Coldwater Canyon home.
While Humphrey Bogart and Ava Gardner had good chemistry on screen, off screen Bogart wasn't particularly impressed with her as an actress. He commented that Gardner gave him nothing to work with when they were performing together. Some believe Bogart's unfavorable feelings towards Gardner was due to the divorce between Gardner and his close friend Frank Sinatra.
The studio was about to release the film's poster with no image of Humphrey Bogart, a contractual violation. Bogart had the matter rectified with the addition of a large line drawing of his face.
Ava Gardner said in her autobiography that Humphrey Bogart was not easy to work with, because he argued about everything.
Marlon Brando turned down the role of Harry Dawes, telling Joseph L. Mankiewicz, "I'm not making pictures about movie stars this year. I'm not even into being a movie star, myself."