Ships' cooks were often nicknamed "Slush" or Slushy". The term comes from the fact that they had to feed the crew with salt pork or salt beef. The meat would be put into a pot and boiled and the grease that came to the surface was called "slush" and was skimmed off and saved. The sailors often smeared it on ships' biscuit in place of butter. Any excess at the end of the voyage was sold to soap makers or candle makers and the proceeds were used to buy things for the ship, hence the term "Slush Fund".
According to star Richard Widmark, director Henry Hathaway didn't want him on the picture, but preferred Van Johnson instead. Widmark claimed Hathaway kept trying to pick a fight with him during the early weeks of shooting, so he could replace him. Widmark remained because it was what studio boss Darryl F. Zanuck wanted. Despite this and Hathaway's not wanting Widmark on Kiss of Death (1947) either, the two became good friends,
The final starring role for Lionel Barrymore. He would appear in five more feature films, all supporting roles.
Lionel Barrymore's character is named Bering Joy because he was born on board a ship in the Bering Sea.