"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie onMarch 8, 1943 with Paulette Goddard and Ray Milland reprising their film roles.
Cecil B. DeMille had wanted Errol Flynn to play Captain Jack Stuart, but Jack L. Warner refused to loan him out.
A song, "Reap the Wild Wind" (1942), music by Lew Pollack and lyrics by Ned Washington, was published to promote the film.
Although John Wayne was pleased to have been cast in such an important movie, he was unhappy with his part and once complained he was only there to make Ray Milland look like a "real man".
During the filming of a fight scene with John Wayne, an accident cost actor 'Victor Kilian (I)' the use of one eye.
For the 1954 theatrical re-release, John Wayne was given top billing in the posters because of his increased star status, and Susan Hayward, who had since 1942 become a major star instead of a supporting player, was misleadingly billed second. Formerly top-billed Ray Milland got third billing in the new posters, while leading lady Paulette Goddard was demoted to fourth billing.
One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.
The giant rubber squid used in the underwater battle was donated by the studio to the war effort in 1942. The Japanese had conquered Malaya and Indochina, source of most of the world's rubber.
The underwater 'Southern Cross' scenes took two months to film.
The world premiere was held on 18 March 1942 at the at the newly renovated El Capitan Theater on Hollywood Blvd. in Los Angeles, California, USA. In conjunction with the premiere was a celebration of Paramount's 30th year in business and Cecil B. DeMille's 30th year in films. It was attended by about 3,000 people with the proceeds going to the Navy Relief Fund.
This was the last film in which Hedda Hopper appeared as a character other than herself.