William Hartnell was reported to have been very disappointed to be replaced by Peter Cushing as the Doctor, as it was thought that Cushing was better known to US audiences
Freddie Francis was attached to direct at one time (he is thought to have assisted with some casting), whilst Ann Bell was to have played Barbara.
Terry Nation's writing credit on the film resulted in many reference books over the years erroneously listing him as creator of the television series.
A number of changes were made to the main characters in the process of transferring "Doctor Who" to the big screen. Most importantly, The Doctor is shown to be a human scientist named Dr. Who. In the TV series, the lead character is an alien time-traveller whose name is never revealed, and who is referred to simply as "The Doctor".
A remake of the 1963/4 "Doctor Who" serial "The Daleks".
Actress Yvonne Antrobus was unavailable for post-synchronization after the shooting of the film was complete. Thus, while she is seen on-screen as Dyoni, her voice is provided by another, unnamed, actress.
As an incentive Roberta Tovey (who was 11 at the time the film was produced) was paid a shilling (5p) by director Gordon Flemyng every time she did a scene in one take. She made so much money, Flemyng didn't offer her the same deal for the sequel.
Initially, the Daleks were going to shoot fire, but this was changed to CO2 fire extinguishers for fear of it being too frightening for children.
Keen amateur florist Peter Cushing contributed the name "lilium philadelphicum" for the flower Susan discovers growing on Skaro.
Last cinema film of Geoffrey Toone.
Other notable changes between the TV series and the film version: in the film, Dr. Who has two grandchildren - Susan and Barbara (in the TV series only Susan is related to the Doctor). Ian is Barbara's boyfriend (in the TV series they were teachers, working at the same school). The Daleks used for this film and its sequel were slightly re-designed for the big screen. The BBC acquired a number of these Daleks after principle photography was complete - and movie-style Daleks in fact appeared on TV (in 1965's "The Chase") before the movie was even released.
Produced by Amicus, using the pseudonym Aaru.
Since there was only a handful of "qualified" Dalek operators, dancers were brought in to play stunt/extra Daleks in big battle scenes or in scenes where large numbers of Daleks were needed.
The edition of "The Eagle and Boys' World" read by Dr. Who is Volume 16, Number 12, published Saturday 20th March 1965.
The screenplay to this film was credited to producer Milton Subotsky, with additional material by David Whitaker. In fact, Dalek creator Terry Nation only agreed to license his teleplay to Subotsky if Whitaker (who was Nation's script editor when he wrote the original teleplay) was hired to adapt it. A deal was therefore struck that would allow Subotsky to receive the credit despite the screenplay actually being written by Whitaker.
To stir up publicity for the film, Tuesday 25th May 1965 saw a squad of Daleks descend on the Cannes Film Festival. Amongst the startled attendees to encounter them was John Lennon.