Tommy Lewis had never had any acting experience when he was cast as this film's lead character Jimmie Blacksmith.
When first classified by the Australian Film Censorship Board, this film garnered an R-rating, restricted to persons 18+ and over. The rating was appealed, and the Australian Films Board of Review over-turned this rating and the film was re-classified with an M rating, suitable for persons 15+ and over.
Though a critical success around the world, this film was commercially unsuccessful at the box-office in Australia.
This picture was one of fifty Australian films selected for preservation as part of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia's Kodak / Atlab Cinema Collection Restoration Project.
This film is based on an actual true incident.
Thomas Keneally: This film's source novelist and screenwriter as a Cook. Keneally had previously appeared in the same director's The Devil's Playground (1976) as Father Marshall.