Helen Mundy, then a 16-year-old high school student from Knoxville, was later described by Karl Brown as "the most difficult person I ever had anything to do with." He recalled her as being very demanding and frequently threatened to walk off the film. The film was being shot in the mountains, far from civilization, and when she did occasionally wander off angrily, Helen would come back after an hour or two. Forrest James, however, seems to have caused no trouble at all.
Karl Brown stated years later that he regretted not waiting to make the film for a few more years. By then, he reasoned, sound and color film technology would have advanced enough for him the preserve the landscape of the shooting environment, and record the voices of the local people, who spoke Elizabethan English
Filmed entirely with a non-professional cast. The two leads, Forrest James and Helen Mundy, were from Alabama and Knoxville, Tennessee, respectively, but the rest were authentic mountain people from Virginia. Despite their involvement as actors, these people had no interest in films, and never saw the movie after it was finished.
The film was shot, whenever possible, using natural light, even at night, which was practically unheard-of at the time. None of the cast ever wore make-up, which was also a rarity.
The original ending included a climax where a character forces himself sexually on Barbara. The scene was cut and another scene, the flood, was shot instead.