Frank Sinatra mandated that this movie's ending be changed and subsequently this destroyed any possibility of a sequel that the 20th Century Fox studio was considering. In the original ending which appears in the source novel, Ryan is not killed as with the film's ending, he survives and with the other escaped POWs, is able to get to neutral Switzerland. This ending would have allowed Ryan, the movie's central character, to appear in a sequel. Sinatra wished for his character to be killed off to add a token of believability to the movie as well as for there to be redemption for the death of the female character Gabriella.
According to Producer Saul David's memoirs Jack Hawkins and Peter Finch were possibles for the part of Major Fincham
According to the memoirs of the producers the original choice to play Sgt Bostick was vetoed by the star.
Average Shot Length = ~5.3 seconds. Median Shot Length = ~5.4 seconds.
The cast features 3 stars who had UK chart hits. Frank Sinatra, John Leyton and Raffaella Carrà (who charted in 1978 with "Do It, Do It Again").
The first train station, Firenze SMN or Santa Maria Novella, is the end of a spur into Florence. The train wouldn't have gone through it.
This movie's opening prologue states: "ITALY, AUGUST 1943. With the Allies poised to strike, the Germans seized control of Italy. So the war-weary Italian nation fought on, a prisoner of the German armies."