In late 1962 Hecht resumed work on "Flight from Ashiya". By then Alan Pakula had dropped out to produce the drama film "To Kill a Mockingbird". Waldo Salt continued his association with Hecht and co-wrote the screenplay with author Elliot Arnold. Oscar nominated director Michael Anderson (nominated for "Around the World in Eighty Days") came on board with two cinematographers; Burnett Guffey, who had just been nominated at the Academy Awards for his work on "Birdman of Alcatraz", and Joseph MacDonald, who had worked on "Taras Bulba". The production was financed and distributed by United Artists on a much smaller budget of $1,800,000, but was still granted top-quality equipment of the era, including Panavision and Eastmancolor.