Franklin says he got the idea to make the film when he was in Sydney producing The Jumping Jeweller of Lavender Bay and heard a tape recorded version of the poem Eskimo Nell.

He was more interested in exploring a male friendship along the lines of Midnight Cowboy (1969)[5] with elements of comic Westerns like Cat Ballou (1965).

[5] Franklin returned home, then realised he could set the story just as easily in the Australian goldfields: There was the desire to assert the Australian vernacular and thereby have a bit of lavatory humour in it, but at the same time I think, as opposed to Alvin and Barry McKenzie, to give a sense of our culture and history in terms of mateship.

[6] The film was shot in mid 1974 in rural Victoria, including Sovereign Hill and in an improvised studio in the Exhibition Building, Melbourne.

A smaller unit shot some additional footage in Canada, including a scene involving pursuit on ice floes which was a homage to Way Down East.

[1] The film received much criticism from conservative groups such as the Festival of Light who claimed that government funds were being used to produce pornography.

I thought it would be great publicity, but the one thing people don't want to hear is that tax dollars have been wasted.

Its release in Australia was delayed until 1976 and its title changed to The Sexy Saga of Naughty Nell and Big Dick.

[1] The movie was not a commercial success, despite being recut for its Sydney release and helped lead to the demise of the Australian "ocker sex comedy" cycle.