This is actor Morris Ankrum's final theatrically released picture. For the remainder of his career he appeared on television.
Towards the end of the movie, there's a couple of street shots showing a sign for "C. Nyby Funeral Home" a nod to director Christian Nyby.
This is an expanded version of the last episode of MGM-TV's brief series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters ("The Day of the Reckoning"), originally telecast in black and white over ABC on March 15, 1964. Russ Conway refilmed Dan O'Herlihy's original scenes as Russell's father for this adaptation.
On discovering it was Charles Bronson's birthday, Kurt Russell gave him a gift. Bronson took the gift and left without a word, leaving Russell worried he had upset him. Later, Bronson called Russell to his dressing room and quietly said he had never received a birthday gift before. Bronson grew up very poor, with fourteen siblings, and worked in mines from a young age, never completing school or experiencing much kindness. Bronson was touched by Russell's gesture. He later gifted Russell a skateboard for his birthday, and they became lifelong friends.