Robert Ryan was in the final stages of lung cancer during filming. He agreed to play the part of Larry Slade, a character who knows he's going to die soon. Ryan died before the film was released.
The first film to ever have two intermissions instead of one.
When Jeff Bridges was first offered this movie by his agent, he turned it down, having just completed The Last American Hero (1973) for Lamont Johnson. When Johnson heard this, he immediately called Jeff and reprimanded him for his foolish decision.