The film was based on a novel by Australian author Morris West, writing under the name "Michael East".
[2] The Sydney Morning Herald said it was a "skilfully written although not particularly impressive tale of adventure and romance in the outback tradition.
[4] In 1965, screenwriter James Poe was in Sydney to research a film he was going to make for MGM and producer George Englund called The Adventures of Captain Cook.
[5] In 1982 Ross Dimsey was finishing his contract as head of the Victoria Film Corporation and was looking for a project to do.
Along with Mark Josem of Filmways and solicitor Bill Marshall they formed a company called Intronide to buy the rights to The Naked Country, which had been optioned several times but not made.
[8] The film performed poorly at the Australian box office but did better overseas, particularly in France and Germany, and Ross Dimsey says it got most of its money back.