- California Doubling: Some scenes were actually filmed on location in New Orleans. However, New Orleans also happened to double for Chicago, Houston and Colombia.
- Creator Backlash: Screenwriter Lewis John Carlino described the film as "one of the great disappointments of my life", continuing:I wanted a commentary on the use of human relationships and sexual manipulation in the lives of two hired killers. It was supposed to be a chess game between the older assassin and his young apprentice. The younger man sees that he can use his sexuality to find the Achilles heel that he needs to win. There was a fascinating edge to it, though, because toward the end the younger man began to fall in love, and this fought with his desire to beat the master and take his place as number one....The picture was supposed to be a real investigation into this situation, and it turned into a pseudo James Bond film.
- What Could Have Been:
- Cliff Robertson was originally cast as Arthur Bishop, with Jeff Bridges as Steve McKenna.
- In the original script, the relationship between Arthur Bishop and Steve McKenna was explicitly gay. Producers had difficulty securing financing and several actors, including Burt Lancaster and George C. Scott, flatly refused to consider the script until the homosexuality was removed.
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