Cozzi also stated that Bava spoke about the film, stating that "I did not direct "Caltiki". The director of that movie is Freda. Only at a certain point, after principal shooting ended, Freda started editing the picture and then he had a big argument with the producer [...] Then Freda walked out." Bava's statement from Cozzi then noted that Bava finished some special effects shot, scenes with soldiers with flame throwers for the ending of the film and declared "that does not mean I was the director of "Caltiki": that is a Riccardo Freda film." According to Bava's biographer Tim Lucas, Freda's walk-off left "two or three weeks of filming", leaving Bava to shoot over 100 special effects shots for a 76-minute long production. Massimo De Rita, who worked as a unit manager for Galatea, spent time on the set of "Caltiki" and opined that "at 90 percent Bava was also the director of "Caltiki". Freda was away, he didn't know anything about what Bava was contriving." De Rita noted that Bava told actors what to do and that Bava shot all the connecting shots with the monster and all the death scenes. Ministerial papers also note the Bava and Freda's roles in the film. The final balance in the film assigns Freda 5,000,000 lire, instead of the initial 6,000,000 and that Bava was paid 6.250 million lire, instead of his initial 3,000,000. "Caltiki - The Immortal Monster" was released theatrically in Italy on 8 August 1959 where it was distributed by Lux Film. In Italy the film was less successful than Freda's and Bava's film "I Vampiri", which had grossed ₤125.3 million Italian lire. "Caltiki" grossed a total of 94.15 million lire domestically. The film was distributed theatrically in the U.S. in September 1960 by Allied Artists as "Caltiki – The Immortal Monster". The English-language dub of the film was created in New York by Titra Studios, which dubbed many of the Italian films from this period. It was released in the U.K. in 1962. "Caltiki - The Immortal Monster" was published as a photonovel in the magazine "I Vostri Film" in the July 1, 1962 issue.