Alain Delon's then girlfriendRomy Schneider appears in the very first scene as a friend of Freddie Miles.

AuthorPatricia Highsmith, on whose novel "Plein Soleil" was based, expressed satisfaction with the film, which she called "very beautiful to the eye and interesting for the intellect," and withAlain Delon's performance as Tom Ripley. She was, however, disappointed with the film's altered ending, calling it "a terrible concession to so-called public morality." Almost certainly, the film-makers would have had no choice but to do this - the film was shot in 1959, when film censorship was still very strong. Several critics felt that the new ending was nevertheless ingenious and an outstanding example of making "a virtue out of necessity".

In an interview of 1966, Marie Laforet said that she regretted taking the role in this film. She said she felt she was too young then, and she'd let herself "be influenced by too many things around her", and that she had missed her chance to perform it well.

The 20,000 lire the pair pay for the white cane equaled $32.20 at the time, which equates to about $320 in 2022.

René Clément's debut as an actor.