Boris Karloff was originally hired to play John F. Black, but it soon became clear that his severe arthritis would not permit him to undertake such a strenuous role. As such Karloff was switched to the part of Mr. Hinchley and Basil Rathbone was brought in to play Black.
The hearse coach used at the beginning of the film now resides outside of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland.
Peter Lorre died only two months after this film's release.
An article in the December 18, 1963 edition of Variety noted that the hydraulically-operated coffin specially built for this film cost $9,300 ($78,000 in 2020).
Les Baxter conducted the entire score in a single day on November 15, 1963 at the Goldwyn Studios scoring stage in Santa Monica.