Trivia: Director Franco Zefferelli had to get special permission to show Olivia Hussey, a teenager at the time, topless in one scene.
Trivia: The bystanders looking at the camera when Rosemary crosses the street were staring in disbelief as Mia Farrow actually wandered out into oncoming traffic! Polanski did not want to "stage" the scene, so she was literally risking her life.
Trivia: In the restaurant scene near the beginning of the film, the actor playing the waiter accidentally flips the corner of the menu in Steve McQueen's eye, but it was left in the finished film.
Trivia: Barbra Streisand and Omar Sharif had an affair that lasted for the duration of the production.
Trivia: Even though the US military had a big part in the production of this film they asked the producer (John Wayne) not to credit them because they thought the movie was so pro-military that it bordered on propaganda.
Trivia: The idea of helicopters was not necessarily new in WW2, but effective designs were not made until after the war; there is evidence from some literary sources (one of them being a book named "German Secret Weapons of WW2" or something like that) that the Germans did indeed conduct experiments and designs on this vehicle type.
Trivia: Patrick McGoohan committed himself to appearing in "Ice Station Zebra" whilst he was filming his famous TV series "The Prisoner". However, as is well known, "The Prisoner" went massively overbudget and seriously behind schedule. As a result, McGoohan had to leave filming of "The Prisoner" in late 1967 for several weeks, in order to appear in "Ice Station Zebra". This is the reason why several episodes of "The Prisoner" have McGoohan either absent or only in previously filmed flashbacks and inserts...McGoohan could not be filming both "The Prisoner" at Elstree, and "Ice Station Zebra" in Hollywood at the same time.
Trivia: Filming was delayed for several weeks after Anthony Hopkins fell from a horse and broke his arm. In several scenes, his armor is concealing a plaster cast. Director Anthony Harvey was stricken with hepatitis, causing further delays in post-production editing. Only Katharine Hepburn's intervention stopped the film's Hollywood backers from handing editing duties off to someone else and from possibly shelving the entire project. (From the director's DVD commentary.)
Trivia: This movie is based on the book "Flowers for Algernon." The Simpsons also spoofed this in an episode called "HOMR." (The one where they find that Homer has a crayon up his nose.).
Trivia: The first choice for actors to play Colombo was Bing Crosby.
Trivia: The director, Carol Reed, is actually Oliver Reed's (portrays Bill Sikes) uncle.
Trivia: Percy Rodrigues plays Dr Copeland, the father of Portia (Cicely Tyson). In real life, Rodrigues was only six years older than Tyson.
Trivia: Walter Brennan plays Grandpa Bower, the father of Calvin Bower (Buddy Ebsen). In real life, Brennan was only fourteen years older than Ebsen.
Trivia: Ava Gardner plays Empress Elizabeth, the mother of Archduke Rudolf (Omar Sharif). In real life, Gardner was only ten years older than Sharif.
Trivia: Bruce Forsyth, who plays Arthur Lawrence, was only 7 years older than Julie Andrews, who plays his daughter Gertrude.
Trivia: While Morton's private train plays a key role in the movie, and the train moves several times, the train's engineer and fireman are never shown, nor is any reference ever made to them.