F. Scott Fitzgerald died of a heart attack before finishing the novel. It was based on the life of the late head of production at MGM, Irving Thalberg. Fitzgerald's old friend and Princeton classmate Edmund Wilson edited the uncompleted manuscript for publication. It was published, in its incomplete form, in 1941, in a volume that also included "The Great Gatsby" and a selection of short stories.
Robert Mitchum was bemused by Robert De Niro's habit of remaining in character all day, and nicknamed the young Method actor "Kid Monroe". Mitchum also recalled that Ray Milland gave anyone with hair a hard time.
According to Theresa Russell, Sam Spiegel said he'd destroy her career if she refused to have sex with him. Russell told an interviewer that she refused, saying "If it meant the end of my career, then I don't have a career." She was cast anyway, and her work was highly praised, even by the many critics who disliked the movie. It was her film debut.
Sam Spiegel said about the film, "The greatest young actor in America today is Robert De Niro, the greatest living director is Elia Kazan, and I may be the greatest producer of all time. How the hell could we make such a bad fucking movie?"