Cassavetes hated this film. He had this to say after its release: "I didn't know anything about directing at a major studio, so Too Late Blues never had a chance. I should have made the film my own way - in New York instead of California, and not on an impossibly tight schedule, working with people who don't like me, didn't trust me and didn't care about the film. Too Late Blues was shot in exactly 6 weeks....but I couldn't because I had to follow the shooting schedule. So the film you saw is incomplete and a wreck."
An Excerpt from John Cassavetes biography, 'Cassavetes on Cassavetes': "Cassavetes wanted Gena Rowlands and Montgomery Clift (whom he regarded as one of the greatest living actors) as the leads in his film, but Racklin insisted on Stella Stevens and Bobby Darin."
In a 2004 interview, Stella Stevens shared a story about co-star Bobby Darin that happened while filming this movie. In one scene, she's standing against a wall and he walks over and kisses her passionately. They kissed for a long time and when he stood back, she noticed he had a very prominent erection. She said "Now I can't think of Bobby Darin without thinking of him with a huge erection. That is an honor, you know? To me and to him."
Stella Stevens said she was offered a role in the Elvis Presley film Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962), but turned it down because she thought the script was a "piece of shit." She then ended up agreeing to do it because Paramount promised her the role in this film and a chance to appear with Montgomery Cliff if she did. But then Cliff was replaced by Bobby Darin.
Montgomery Clift was originally going to play the lead role of Ghost.