Only Columbia Pictures would finance this film, but they insisted that Writer and Director Hall Bartlett re-write the film for a white co-star. Alan Ladd was the only major star willing to do the film, which he co-produced.
The scene where two Marines set fire to a tank was filmed in a parking lot at a lodge to avoid having ski lifts appear in the frame.
The United States Marine Corps had disbanded segregated Marine units and bases since November 18, 1949.
Columbia Pictures planned two separate advertising campaigns for the movie to white and black audiences.
The original schedule called for twenty-eight days of filming, but due to severe delays, filming was completed after fifty-four days.