Joan Fontaine received hundreds of hate letters, containing dimes and quarters, which read, "If you're so hard up that you have to work with a nigger..." They were post-marked from various parts of the country, but they seemed to be dictated by one organization, as many of the phrases were identical. Fontaine turned the letters over to the FBI.
This was the third and final movie featuring both Harry Belafonte and Dorothy Dandridge. The first two being Bright Road (1953) and Carmen Jones (1954). This was Dandridge's "comeback" movie, as she hadn't made a film since 1954's Carmen Jones, in which she played the lead. In 1955, she had been offered supporting roles in The King and I and The Lieutenant Wore Skirts but Otto Preminger, her lover and Carmen Jones' director, advised her to turn down the roles. This was Dandridge's first film role in three years: She was billed third, but appeared in only a supporting role.
First movie to have an interracial kiss.
Diana Wynyard, who portrayed James Mason's mother, was only three years older than he, even though he is referred to as her "younger" son; and Joan Collins, who portrays his sister, was 25 years younger than he.
In August 1957, this movie was being being shown in some locations on a double bill with Monkey on My Back.