This was Patricia Neal's return to the screen after a four-year absence from Hollywood, an absence that was precipitated by a much-publicized affair with Gary Cooper (who was married at the time) and a subsequent nervous breakdown.
When it came to casting, Elia Kazan selected several "people from Nashville; Lonesome Rhodes' friend who twitches his toes, he's from the Grand Ole Opry, a regular comedian there. We went around a lot of clubs, picking up entertainers. I had heard Andy Griffith on record, then I saw him on TV . . . He was the real native American country boy and that comes over in the picture. I had him drunk all through the last big scene because it was the only way he could be violent. In life, he wants to be friends with everybody."
Lee Remick, making her film debut as the sexy baton twirler, showed up at the film set three weeks early, so she could train with the local high school's majorettes.
Burl Ives: Actor and musician, just prior to the middle of the film, when Walter Matthau's character enters the bar.