This film was almost a box office flop. It performed poorly in its first few weeks in release. Then news broke out about star Lana Turner's infamous scandal: her affair with mobster Johnny Stompanato, and his death at the hands of Turner's daughter. The ongoing national coverage of the subsequent murder trial turned the film into a box office smash. Ironically, Turner had initially feared the press swirling around the trial would end her career.
The real life murder of star Lana Turner's mobster boyfriend Johnny Stompanato by Turner's daughter was later fictionalized in the movie Where Love Has Gone (1964), also scripted by "Peyton Place" writer John Michael Hayes.
Twentieth Century-Fox reportedly bought the film rights to Grace Metalious' novel for $100,000.