While released in the United States by NBC as a four hour television miniseries, Paramount later had the film re-edited into a two hour feature for theatrical release internationally.
Robert Mitchum was originally cast as Juan Domingo Perón but walked out after having considerable difficulty with Faye Dunaway ordering him around on the set.
Rita Moreno's character of Renata Riguel is based on the famous Argentine actress/singer Libertad Lamarque, who was rumored to have been at war with the real Eva Perón back when the latter pursued an acting career in the early to mid 1940s. Lamarque later went into self-imposed exile in Mexico after Eva became the First Lady of Argentina in 1945.
Several of the extras were American medical students attending the Autonomous University of Guadalajara (filmed in Guadalajara, Mexico).