Anthony Franciosa was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance as Polo in the original Broadway production. He was nominated for an Academy Award for reprising the role in this film.
Adapted from a Broadway play by Michael V. Gazzo. The original stage production opened on Nov. 9, 1955 at the Lyceum Theatre in New York and ran for 398 performances. Ben Gazzara and Shelley Winters played the two leads.
Anthony Franciosa and Henry Silva reprise their roles from the Broadway production. Anthony Franciosa and his Broadway co-star Shelley Winters were later married.
To prepare for the film, Don Murray and director Fred Zinnemann spent time with the NYPD's Narcotics Squad. This gave them access to the lives of real addicts and how they coped.