US Marine and Navy units participated in the filming of this movie and after their work was finished, they went to fight in Korea.
Second-unit filming of Marine Corps action maneuvers for this movie was shot between 1-12 May 1950 on location at Camp Pendleton, Southern California.
This movie's title is taken from the first opening line lyric of the Marine's Hymn, the official hymn of the United States Marine Corps. In turn, the phrase "Halls of Montezuma" in that hymn is taken from the September 1847 Mexican-American War's Battle of Chapultepec when American Marines attacked the Chapultepec Castle (Spanish: Castillo de Chapultepec) west of Mexico City and later occupied that city. The Chapultepec Castle is also known as the Halls of Montezuma. The castle was depicted in the movie Vera Cruz (1954) and was an actual filming location in the film Romeo + Juliet (1996).
This movie had simultaneous premieres in Los Angeles and New York according to 'The Hollywood Reporter'. Both premieres were attended by US Marine veterans, active duty Marines, and officials whilst, both premieres were also charity aid benefits raising funds for charities relating to the Marine Corps.