Production Background
Filmed in the fall of 1960, in Greece, the film was Jayne Mansfield's last film with Fox before her career setback to low-budgeted British and European melodramas and comedies. Although Mansfield appears only in a supporting role, she garners top-billing. Newcomer Trax Colton (appearing in his second film) starred in the film. As a publicity promotion for Colton, Fox cast the unknown actor in the lead and billed him directly below sex goddess Mansfield. During the filming of the feature, Mansfield and Colton had a brief (unknown in the day) love affair.
Both Nico Minardos and Bob Mathias were added as supporting characters at the last minute when the appearances of both Lt. Alexi and Coach Graham were lengthened, to become more than bit players. Less experienced actors were first cast, however, when Fox demanded the roles be lengthened, the more experienced Minardos and Mathias were brought in as replacements. Unknowns were cast in smaller and less meaningful parts that rounded out the cast.
Thought to be one of Mansfield's latter low-budgeted films, It Happened in Athens was shot on a high-budget and was produced in CinemaScope and DeLuxe color. Like other Fox films during the early 1960s, the feature was made to bring the studio money, who was going broke because of the raising costs of the big-budgeted epic-historical drama, Cleopatra. However, upon release, It Happened in Athens was greeted with negative reviews and was a box office disappointment, making roughly $1 million in ticket sales, on a budget of nearly $1.3 million. Not long after the film's failure, Fox released both Colton and Mansfield from their studio contracts.
Both performers were released due to their box office popularity. Though Mansfield was a huge box office star in the late-1950s, her movie career had faded by this point. Colton, an unknown, was released from the studio without having a fair chance at superstardom. According to Fox, Mansfield hadn't worked with them full-time due to her repeated pregnancies and they didn't have enough time to promote the severely unknown Colton, who really didn't have the faith in his own, somewhat unwanted, career in the movies.
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