Richard Lynch was originally considered to play Roscoe, but Joe Spinell lobbied hard to secure the lead role of Roscoe in the film.
Joe Spinell shot a ten minute audition tape with his then girlfriend Linda Ipanema as a means of persuading the producers to cast him as Roscoe.
Various crew members play small roles in the movie.
Director Franco De Stefanino is actually a pseudonym for the following four people: Screenwriter William James Kennedy, cinematographer Richard E. Brooks, and producers Steve Bono and Frank Avianca, who all had a hand in directing this film.
The opening scene wasn't in the original script.