Jack Thompson was the first choice to play the role of Mexico Pete. Reportedly, Thompson withdrew from the role which was re-cast with actor Serge Lazareff.
This movie was inspired by and based on the undated bawdy folk poem 'The Ballad of Eskimo Nell'.
Black-and-white second unit photography of ice-flows was filmed in Canada. This footage was meant to be inspired by D.W. Griffith's Way Down East (1920).