The film has a British setting, but is based on an American novel by Gregory Macdonald (his first, published in 1964). The presence of a Hollywood screenwriter, Hugo Butler, who had died in 1968, suggests that the project had been in the works for a long time before the film was finally made. Despite good reviews, it was a box-office failure, and has never had a video or DVD release in Britain; nor has it been televised in the UK in the last thirty years.
The first of a handful of cinema films directed by the actor David Hemmings. It is thought that he had originally been offered the leading role (eventually played by Robert Powell), but instead seized the opportunity to move into direction, a long-held ambition of his.
Heather MacCrae was originally cast as Ellen Case. She began location filming until fired by Hemmings, possibly for drug or alcohol reasons. Although not ideally suited for the role, Gayle Hunnicutt took over at short notice.
Final film of Stephanie Bidmead;