Stories from the set

The film is based on the novel Make Room! Make Room! by Harry Harrison.

During filming, Edward G. Robinson (1893-1973) was already almost completely deaf. He could only hear if something was said directly into his ear. Scenes of his conversations with other people had to be reshot several times until he finally caught the rhythm of the dialogue. When director Richard Fleischer (1916-2006) gave the command "Cut!", Robinson often did not hear him and continued to play the scene out of inertia.

The chase scene at the end of the film was shot without any lines or dialogue, because the screenwriter Stanley R. Greenberg (1927-2002) did not want it to turn into an action film. Moreover, the contract specifically stated that, beyond what was written in the script, no lines or dialogue could be added to the film (or removed during editing, for that matter).

When Thorn, played by Charlton Heston (1923-2008), learns that he failed to prevent the suicide of Sol Roth (played by Robinson), he begins to cry. According to a 1997 interview with Robert Osborne, Heston really did cry - he was so shaken by Robinson's performance. Robinson himself already knew he had cancer, but kept it secret from the other actors and crew members. He also knew that this was his last film. He died ten days after filming ended.