After the success of this project, Michael Mann received over two dozen offers to direct projects. He turned them all down to do Thief (1981).
Filmed at Folsom Prison in California, many actual prisoners appeared on camera. One of those prisoners acted as a bodyguard for Peter Strauss.
Shot in 21 days with a budget of $1.1 million.
During the shoot in Folsom, there were thirteen stabbings and one murder among the inmates, but not a single crewmember was injured or threatened over the course of the production, and no one ever witnessed any violence.
The film, as was common with many network made for TV movies at the time, was released outside the USA in theaters.