The Hoodlum Priest was the first venture for Murray-Wood Productions, a company Wood established with the film’s star, Don Murray.
[5] Wood reunited with Don Murray for Escape from East Berlin, a 1962 film directed by Robert Siodmak.
The film is based on a news story of twenty-eight people who tunneled to freedom under the Berlin Wall earlier that same year.
The film, directed by Barry Shear, is based on murders committed by Charles Schmid in Tucson in the 1960s.
[12] It was the final collaboration between director Hal Needham and star Burt Reynolds and was a critical and financial flop.