The film is based on three short stories from the 1951 collection The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury: "The Veldt," "The Long Rain," and "The Last Night of the World."

The tie-in prologue tells of how Carl came to be tattooed after he encountered a mysterious woman named Felicia (Claire Bloom) in a remote farmhouse.

Howard B. Kreitsek wrote the screenplay that encompassed the stories "The Veldt," "The Long Rain," and "The Last Night of the World"; Jack Smight directed the film.

He has committed every possible error of style and taste, including the inexcusable fault of letting Steiger chew up every piece of scenery in sight.

"[citation needed] According to John Stanley, "a major disappointment, for producer Howard B. Kreitsek's script fails to capture the poetry or imagination of Ray Bradbury's famous collection.

[citation needed] In August 2007, Zack Snyder signed on to direct a remake of The Illustrated Man with Watchmen co-screenwriter Alex Tse as screenwriter.