"On the Road" author Jack Kerouac was disturbed that his friend, author John Clellon Holmes, managed to get his "Beat Generation" novel "Go" into print before his own was published ("Go", in which Kerouac is a main character, was published in 1952, while "On the Road" was not published until 1957). Kerouac was worried that Holmes was plagiarizing him, although Holmes was careful to credit Kerouac with creating the term "Beat" for their generation, and much of the material was common among them and other writers of their circle, such as Allen Ginsberg. Ironically, producer Albert Zugsmith outfoxed Kerouac by copyrighting the term "The Beat Generation", which he used as the title of this egregious exploitation film, which was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1959. A year later, M.G.M. released a film of Kerouac's novel "The Subterraneans", made by with top talent: It proved to be a major disappointment as it grossly misrepresented the scene (as well as Kerouac's novel). Ironically, "The Subterraneans" probably is the premier contemporary movie about the Beats, as so few "Beat" movies were made (until On the Road (2012)), the phenomenon occurring during a time of strict screen censorship in the United States. By the time censorship was lifted in 1967, the Beats had been supplanted by the Hippies.
Audience members were given free "beatnik dictionaries", which humorously defined "beat" terms and catch-phrases.
Irish McCalla was offered the lead role, but then producer Albert Zugsmith told her there was a rape scene and her bra would be ripped off for the European version. He said the rape would be filmed in good taste though. McCalla asked how anyone could be raped in good taste. She then turned it down and took the much smaller role of Marie Baron.
In-joke: Ray Danton, playing a serial rapist, finds one of his victims by seeing her street address on an envelope. The street is named Danton.
Regina Carrol's debut.