Many of the projects that Hecht worked on between 1959 and 1964 shifted back and forth between independent solo productions and Hecht-Hill-Lancaster Productions ventures. Because of a financial deficit owed to United Artists when Hecht-Hill-Lancaster Productions decided to call it quits in 1959, the three partners were obligated to make a number of films for the studio in an attempt to recoup the costs. Some of the films were to be as individuals, others were required to be under the Hecht-Hill-Lancaster Productions banner. In that manner, "The Young Savages" became a Hecht-Hill-Lancaster Productions film when Burt Lancaster was cast in the lead, replacing Glenn Ford, in early 1960.