According to a contemporary article in the New York Times, when director David Lean saw this movie at its London premier, he was greatly impressed by the performance of a completely unknown actor, Peter O'Toole, in the supporting role of Capt. Monty Fitch. He called O'Toole and asked him to do a screen-test for the lead in the title role of his epic classic, Lawrence of Arabia (1962), but only after Marlon Brando and Albert Finney either refused or lost the part.
Peter O'Toole was originally considered for the part of Charles Norgate, which eventually went to Aldo Ray, but insisted on being cast as Monty Fitch, because he didn't want to be typecast as the Irish boyo.
Although the film was not Peter O'Toole's first motion picture acting assignment, having had small parts in the Walt Disney Production Kidnapped (1960) and The Savage Innocents (1960), The Day They Robbed the Bank of England (1960) marked his first major role.
This film failed at the box office, resulting in a loss to MGM of $57,000 (about $597,000 in 2023) according to studio records.