Jack Sernas and Rossana Podesta

Typically, cutting had not been frequently used with CinemaScope, because the wide shots could contain so much information. Wise, ever the editor at heart, did not agree. "I saw no reason why I couldn't compose and shoot CinemaScope and edit it just the same way as I had done in the old frame. I decided I could use over-the-shoulder shots, big-head closeups and cut them in as long as I composed them carefully, because you have to balance the closeup with something interesting on the other side. I deliberately tried this in tests and found out there was no reason why I couldn't get the same kind of angles and coverage that I used to get....I think I was the first one to use editing in its purest sense with CinemaScope."*

Wise's dedication to realistic detail in every aspect led him to overdub the voices of the two leads (the Italian actress Rossana Podesta and the French actor Jack Sernas) so that their accents would not differ from the rest of the cast, who were mostly British.