André De Toth had the town built in Oregon several months before filming so that the structures would be naturally weathered by rain and snow, not artificially dressed by crewmen. When De Toth learned that the workers had neglected to follow his compass headings for the layouts of the streets, he had them rebuild it.
For the prom sequence, André De Toth organized everything so that Tina Louise was really surprised; it wasn't just her character.
Philip Yordan called the script "one of the best I've ever written," but said the problem with the film was that the budget, at $400,000, was not big enough. Yordan told author Franklyn Barrett, in his biographical book about Robert Ryan, that Andre DeToth was having personal problems at the time of filming and it was apparent on the set. Other problems included Robert Ryan's being out for a week with pneumonia; snowstorms causing delays in filming; DeToth's changing his mind about where some scenes were to be shot (from interior to remote exteriors); and finally DeToth's running out of money, packing up, and going back to Hollywood. Yordan lamented what "could have been."
André De Toth also had to fight the producers to shoot the movie in black-and-white: "It was a story of tension and fear, survival in a prison of snow. Had I shot it in color, the green pine trees covered with snow, the soft glow of candles, the dancing tongues of flames in the fireplaces would have radiated warmth and safety and the joy of peace on earth. A 'Merry Christmas' card from fairy-tale land."