Mike Connors has said that he performed the stunt where he hangs from a rope attached to a helicopter flying around the Christ the Redeemer Statue because a local Brazilian stuntman refused to do it.
At least for the time of the film, according to actor Mike Connors, the production was the only film that was allowed permission to film at Rio de Janeiro's sacred landmark of the Christ the Redeemer Statue.
Shot before Mike Connors landed his most famous role headlining the series Mannix (1967). Connors played that part for 8 years.
The movie has a plot that is considered highly similar to the James Bond film Moonraker (1979) which was made thirteen years later.
This film was rushed into release in the USA in January 1967 so as to beat the much bigger studio James Bond parody Casino Royale (1967) which was launched in April of that same year. Principal photography of the film was actually shot whilst the official James Bond movie You Only Live Twice (1967) was in pre-production with the intention of beating that picture to the screen as well but Casino Royale (1967) was more of a threat as it was also a Bond spoof.