Inspired by their location shoot in Trinidad and Tobago, Robert Mitchum recorded a calypso album, while Jack Lemmon scored a harmonica theme for the film.
The first of two back-to-back films Robert Mitchum filmed in the Caribbean. The second was John Huston's Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957).
With a budget of $2.5m, the film failed to recoup its costs.
Rita Hayworth had unsuccessfully sued Columbia to end her contract. "Fire Down Below" was the first movie she made for Columbia after she lost in court. It was her first film in three years.