Trivia / The Gypsy Moths

• California Doubling: Averted! The film was shot completely on-location in Kansas, where it was set.
• Cowboy BeBop at His Computer: In one obituary about her, it was said that Deborah Kerr "refused" to do a nude scene. While there is a shot that could have been done with doubles, there are close-ups that would be impossible to achieve if it wasn't actually Kerr. Also, the same obituary said the movie came out in 1968 - off by one year.
• Creator Backlash: John Frankenheimer later regretted killing off Rettig twenty minutes before the end, feeling the movie suffered because of it.
• Creator's Favorite: John Frankenheimer called Gene Hackman his favorite member of the cast. He called Browdy's talk about the time he did the cape jump the best scene in the film, entirely because of the performance.
• Creator's Oddball: Director John Frankenheimer was best known for political thrillers or action movies. This Slice of Life about existentialism and skydiving is an odd entry in his filmography.
• Dawson Casting: If we do the math around when Malcolm says he last saw his aunt and uncle, he should be twenty-two or twenty-three. Scott Wilson was nearly thirty.
• Enforced Method Acting: In order to get an authentic reaction out of the extras at the airfield, John Frakenheimer put a mannequin in a suit and had it pushed out of the plane. Thinking they were watching a person fall to his death, their shocked reactions are genuine.
• Fatal Method Acting: A near-miss. One of the skydivers doubling for the actors was hit by a sudden gust of wind and broke his collarbone.
• Magnum Opus Dissonance: John Frankenheimer claims this to be one of his favourite films, despite it not making much of an impression on the general public.
• Method Acting: Determined to be accurate, Burt Lancaster had the stunt jumpers teach him how to pack a parachute. John Frankenheimer likewise went up in a plane twice to witness jumps - just so he could understand what the jumpers went through.
• The Other Marty: John Philip Law was cast as Malcolm, but broke his wrist while filming one of the jump scenes. Scott Wilson had to replace him.
• Production Posse: This marked the fifth collaboration between Burt Lancaster and John Frankenheimer.
• Screwed by the Network: John Frankenheimer said of the film's treatment by the studio...
  "The front office management changed hands three times during the filming, and no one was really interested. I liked that film a lot. A lot. But MGM's management was more concerned with stock transactions. The movie was dumped in multiple releases and never had a chance to find an audience. What it would have done with an intelligent release, we'll never know now."
• Throw It In!:
  • The dancers in the go-go club were locals found in the town where they were filming.
  • During production, the skydiving doubles thought up the trick having the three hold a banner between them as they jumped.
• What Could Have Been:
  • The rights to the book were first bought by Douglas & Lewis Productions so that Kirk Douglas could star as Rettig. He and Edward Lewis broke their partnership only a few months later, and he took The Gypsy Moths with him. This was in 1966 but the film wasn't made until two years later.
  • The film had some footage trimmed from it, so it could be shown at the family friendly Radio City Music Hall. After that didn't do so well, it was released with all the footage restored.
• Working Title: The Fall Guys.

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