Sir Michael Caine stated in his memoir that the making of this movie and Bullet to Beijing (1995), "was my worst professional experience ever" and that he decided to quit acting during the production. Jack Nicholson convinced Caine to come out of retirement to work on Blood and Wine (1996).
While shooting in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Sir Michael Caine and crew members received death threats from Russian crime lords. Caine had to have two armed bodyguards with him at all times.
Although this movie is sometimes referred to as "Len Deighton's Midnight in Saint Petersburg," Deighton had no involvement in the production, and this movie was not based on one of his novels. Not only that, but Deighton did not even coin the name "Harry Palmer" (the character in his novels remained unnamed).
A television movie for the Showtime cable network.