George Sanders, in his 1960 autobiography, wrote at length about the making of this film, which he found an exasperating and unpleasant experience. He spoke witheringly about
Roberto Rossellini, whom he characterized as being more interested in scuba-diving than in film-making. Although the tone of his remarks is one of amusement, it became known that Sanders (who had admired earlier Rossellini films) had been deeply affected by exposure to a style of film-making quite foreign to his previous experience, and had spent the shoot feeling frustrated and angry, often bursting into uncontrollable tears.