Did You Know?
Marlon Brando was reportedly involved in a string of stunts during filming. On location in Texas, he shot off a string of firecrackers in a hotel lobby, serenaded Jean Peters from a treetop at three in the morning, horrified cast and crew by playing dead for several minutes following the hail of gunfire that ends Zapata's life, and told visiting reporters that he once ate grasshoppers and gazelle eyes.
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Anthony Quinn was very disappointed when Marlon Brando was cast as Emiliano Zapata - he thought that with his Latin appearance, he would have been a better choice. To solve the argument, both actors competed to see which of them could urinate furthest into the Rio Grande. Quinn lost the bet, but he won an Oscar for the best supporting actor as Zapata's brother.
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Anthony Quinn had played Stanley Kowalski in the road-tour of Tennessee Williams' play "A Streetcar Named Desire", and some critics thought he was better than Marlon Brando, who had originated the part. None of this was lost on Elia Kazan, who liked to foster competition between his actors if it was appropriate. On set, the competitive Quinn and Brando, who both liked and respected each other, bonded like the brothers they played.
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According to Elia Kazan's autobiography "A Life" (1988), John Steinbeck would whittle while they sat in the wood shop of Steinbeck's New York townhouse writing the script. The two developed a deep and enduring friendship during the project.
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"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on November 3, 1952 with Jean Peters reprising her film role.
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The cast includes the original voice of Fred Flintstone, Alan Reed, and his successor, Henry Corden. Though they share no scenes, this is nonetheless the only feature film in which both appear.
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Anthony Quinn won his Oscar for this film on the same Oscar night that his father-in-law Cecil B. DeMille won the award for Best Picture for The Greatest Show on Earth.
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Both Anthony Quinn and Marlon Brando had played the role of Stanley Kowalski in "Streetcar Named desire" shortly before they were teamed here.
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Richard Conte campaigned for the lead in 1949, when the picture was then titled Beloved Tiger.
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