filming was done on location in chicago, castle hayne, north carolina and wilmington, north carolina at the de laurentiis entertainment group studios. the film was originally intended to be called "let's make a deal", and during production and filming this was changed to "triple identity". this referenced the fact that the lead character goes from being an fbi agent, to a small-town sheriff, and then to an undercover operative. in the end "raw deal" was the chosen title, in an attempt to make the film sound more like a regular action film.