Rip Torn, as Tom Finley, Jr., was nominated for the 1960 Tony Award for supporting or featured actor in a drama and recreated his role in the movie version. He later played "Boss" Tom Finley, Sr. in a 1989 TV version of _Sweet Bird of Youth_TV_(1989)_, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Mark Harmon.
Geraldine Page was nominated for the 1960 Tony Award for best actress in a drama and recreated her role in this movie.
Adapted from a Broadway play by Tennessee Williams that opened on Mar. 10, 1959 at the Martin Beck Theatre and ran for 375 performances. Elia Kazan directed, and Paul Newman, Geraldine Page, Madeleine Sherwood and Rip Torn recreated their roles from the play.
Had its premier at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. The theater has been restored today and shows historic and retro films.
In the original play, Chance does not end up with Heavenly. He is beaten and castrated (offstage) by Boss Finley's thugs. The ending was changed for the movie because the original ending would never have been allowed by the 1960's censors.
Longtime MGM hair stylist Sydney Guilaroff appears uncredited attending to the hair of Geraldine Page. He was extremely well respected, serving as chief hair stylist at MGM from 1934 until the late 1970s. Although he did not receive onscreen credit, he designed Judy Garland's hair styles for The Wizard of Oz and made Lucille Ball's hair red for Du Barry Was a Lady, the color she kept it for the rest of her life.
The role of Chance Wayne was first offered to Elvis Presley, but Presley's manager, Colonel" Tom Parker , turned it down because he didn't want Elvis to play a bad guy.
Was given a pre-rating advisory of restricted by the MPAA, disallowing any persons under the age of 18 from attending. This was pre-rating equivalent of an X (later NC-17) rating. By modern standards the film is so tame, when Shown on Turner Classic Movies, it's rated TV-PG.