The film was retitled "Season of Passion" for the American market. Although this was announced in November 1960 the film was not released in New York until 1962 on a double bill with "The Happy Thieves". According to "Sight and Sound" "the first third" of the film was "a near disaster - slow, incoherent, dead" but that it improved. "The New York Times" called it "an interesting, off beat movie... that is decidedly worth seeing." According to "Filmink" magazine, "No one likes this film version, most blaming the happy ending, miscasting and change of locale. But Dighton's screenplay stuffs a superb source material... his script was so bad. He had some good credits up to then (always in collaboration), but none after. I think he was one of those writers who got away with it for a bit then get found out." According to a history of United Artists, the film was one of four movies by Hecht Hill Lancaster - the others were "Rabbit Trap", "Cry Tough" and "Take a Giant Step" - that all went over budget as a group by $500,000 and all the films lost money. This, along with the poor box office performance of other HHL films like "The Devil's Disciple", resulted in HHL being ultimately wound up.