Although it is nominally based on the unsuccessful 1940 play "The Peaceful Inn" (which makes no mention of World War II), this film is chiefly inspired by a real incident of the war which had attracted some attention at the time. The Welsh village of Cwmbach had only one bomb dropped on it by the Luftwaffe during the entire course of the war; it fell on a local inn and killed the landlord and his daughter (no-one else). It has never been satisfactorily explained why this incident should have occurred. It had not been part of an air raid; there were none in this remote rural area.
Mervyn Johns and Glynis Johns were real life father and daughter, the same as the characters in the film.
With the death of Sally Ann Howes on December 19th 2021, Glynis Johns became the last surviving cast member of this film (as of May 2023).
Roland Pertwee (The Prison Governor) was the father of actor Jon Pertwee and grandfather of actor Sean Pertwee.