Although Jay Ose is credited only with playing the small part of "2nd Fertilizer Man," the Los Angeles Times reported during filming that he was on set to coach George C. Scott in his role as a con artist. Ose, a professional magician and card dealer, is apparently the man whose hands appear in the close-up shots of Mordecai Jones doing particularly elaborate card tricks.
This movie was filmed in Lexington, Kentucky and surrounding small towns, including Richmond, Winchester, and Irvine, Kentucky. The scene which shows the green bridge and A&P store was shot in Irvine, a small Appalachian town in Estill County, Kentucky. Townspeople had never witnessed a movie being made, and many stood excitedly watching the process. Highly acclaimed actor Harry Dean Stanton was born in West Irvine, which is very close in location to shots taken for this movie. However, Stanton had long since departed for Hollywood, and had already starred in many classic hit shows and movies by that time.
Actor Michael Sarrazin received an 'introducing' credit though Sarazin had previous appeared in television and one cinema movie Gunfight in Abilene (1967).
The Vaughn Tobacco Warehouses in Lexington, Kentucky were converted to soundstages for interior shooting of this film.
There is no Cape Fear county but the Cape Fear area is in southeastern North Carolina. Source novelist Guy Owen, who wrote the book on which the film is based, is from this area.