Did You Know?

A lion named King who starred in the movie was shot during filming by a policeman who thought that the lion attacked a teenager. In reality, a teenager was bothering lion who in turn went and knocked a teenager off his feet, as he was taught to do for the movie.

Producer Dino De Laurentiis was not committed to the film to such an extent that he tried to cut the living expenses of the large Russian crew while shooting on location in Italy. He also demanded that a very small number of takes should be shot to reduce lab bills. This resulted in a crew going on strike. He also vetoed casting of Italian big names stars such as Alberto Sordi Marcello Mastroianni, Claudia Cardinal and Sophia Loren. This decision backfired when the finished film was presented to Paramount for a possible distribution deal. Paramount bosses told De Laurentiis that the film could have been a great international success if well-known international stars had been cast.