De Laurentiis wanted an unknown to play the female lead, like Jessica Lange was in "King Kong". Lange herself was once mentioned. The producer said he looked at hundreds of girls. "If the right age the wrong face. If the right face then not in a position to act." Eventually Mia Farrow ("who has the face of an 18 year old") got the job. Unknown Hawaiian surfer Dayton Ka'ne was given the romantic male lead. He studied for several months with Jeff Corey.