The story is set in the "not too distant" future. While viewing slides of pictures taken at the last naval inspection, the date 1970 can be seen. Although likely overlooked by modern audiences, the movie has many futuristic items that would have seemed state of the art at the time of release. The wall projecting slide viewer, the television based teleconference equipment, even the digital time/date display at the Pentagon were all touches meant at the time of release to reflect a high tech environment of the near future.
Kirk Douglas had been at a dinner with John F. Kennedy, who asked him if he planned to make the novel "Seven Days in May" into a movie. When Douglas said "yes", the president spent the next half hour telling him how great a movie it would be.
A liberal Democrat, Burt Lancaster was hesitant to take the role of Scott, as he felt the character and film unfairly vilified the conservative Republican party. Kirk Douglas persuaded him that the role of Scott was a morally ambiguous figure rather than a villain.
Originally scheduled for release in December 1963 but Burt Lancaster insisted the release date be postponed as it was too soon after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The same fate befell Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), which was also scheduled for a December 1963 opening.
Director John Frankenheimer wanted a more futuristic rifle for use by the military, given the movies, occurring in the near future and chose the Colt M16 for this purpose. The M16 was subsequently chosen as the replacement for the aging and overly heavy M14, then in service.
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