The film was produced by
Al Zimbalist who says he was given a copy of the Verne novel that his 16-year-old son Don had found in a London bookshop. Director Edward Bernds says the novel had not been published in the US due to its
antisemitism. Jules Verne adaptations were in vogue at the time ever since the success of
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and
Around the World in 80 Days. Zimbalist had the rights to footage for
One Million B.C. (1940). Zimbalist and his partner Bryan Roberts formed a company to adapt the Verne novel. "Verne is the purest kind of escapist," said Zimbalist, adding that "whatever you say about his imagination and his genius, he just did not have a good storyline." Bernds says making the film at Columbia was inefficient because the movie had to absorb studio overhead and he would have gotten greater production value for the budget if the film had been made outside. He says Columbia executives had a clause where if the film went over budget, Zimbalist and Roberts would forfeit their fees. However he says he was saved by the fact that Zimbalist ensured the amount of company overhead was fixed, and that the filmmakers could use a left over jungle set from Columbia's ''
The Devil at 4 O'Clock'' (1961) that cost half a million to make; the entire film was shot on that set. The movie was completed on budget. Bernds re-used a spider from his earlier film
World Without End (1956). ==Reception==