One of the few times Charles Bronson played a villain since he became a top international star in the early 70's. He generally did not like playing villains and turned down many roles in his later years where he would play one.
Producer Andrew J. Fenady had also wanted to do a remake of "Wuthering Heights" with Charles Bronson in the 70s. Bronson would have been Heathcliff and it would have been set in the Old West.
A large scale remake had also been mooted the previous year. John Boorman and Ron Howard were potentially set to direct this 70mm production and Tom Hanks was lined up to star but it was deemed too expensive.