Halls of Anger marked the feature film acting debut of Jeff Bridges, as well as Randy Fredricks (a.k.a. Randy Brooks), who had previously performed in Hair on Broadway, according to the 11 Aug 1969 DV.
       The 22 Jul 1968 DV announced that John Shaner and Al Ramrus had been hired to write the screenplay, about racial conflict arising from school busing, for Mirisch Productions, Inc. Principal photography began the following year, on 29 Jul 1969, as announced in that day’s DV. (A production chart in the 8 Aug 1969 DV gave a conflicting start date of 28 Jul 1969.) Shooting took place at two Los Angeles, CA, public schools, and at Samuel Goldwyn Studio in Hollywood, CA. The 15 Aug 1969 LAT stated that some filming also took place in the nearby San Fernando Valley. Due to a lack of African American talent in the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) at the time, producer Herbert Hirschman recruited background actors from South West Los Angeles, from groups including the Douglass House Foundation in Watts, the Mafundi Institute, and Locke High School. An item in the 7 Aug 1969 Los Angeles Sentinel credited Thomas Spratt of Douglass House, Paul Thomas of Mafundi Institute, and T. V. Lee of Locke High School with assisting in casting. Eddie Davis of the Black Stuntmen’s Association was said to have recruited five male actors.
       Rumors of an on-set confrontation between director Paul Bogart and lead actor Calvin Lockhart were mentioned in the 9 Oct 1969 Los Angeles Sentinel. Lockhart denied a “tangle” but claimed that “heated words” had been exchanged. Months later, in an interview published in the 19 Apr 1970 NYT, Lockhart revealed that he had had many disagreements with the script throughout production. He recalled one instance, stating, “I was supposed to jump up on a truck and yell, ‘Black ain’t right, and white ain’t right, only right is right.’” Due to his strong disbelief in the statement, the actor had refused to deliver the lines. Executive producer Walter Mirisch, who was currently overseeing production on The Hawaiians (1970, see entry), had been called to intervene. Lockhart also claimed that a scene he had rejected was shot purposely on one of his days off. The scene in question showed a group of black school girls stripping a white girl in the school bathroom—an assault that Lockhart would only have believed if white students were the perpetrators, since that type of abuse was “not a part of black people’s culture.” Lockhart felt that on-set racial tensions mirrored those in the film, including his rift with Bogart. The actor, who had gained notoriety for being difficult to work with, stated that on the last night of shooting, Bogart had publicly declared “how much he hated me, and how rude he thought I was.” Lockhart claimed that white extras had applauded Bogart’s outburst. In response to Lockhart’s claims, Bogart admitted that he had lost patience with the actor by the end of production. According to NYT, Bogart accused Lockhart of selfish behavior, including numerous late arrivals on hot summer days, which had forced young black actors to unnecessarily suffer in the heat.
       The film opened to mixed reviews in Washington, D.C., on 25 Mar 1970, and in Los Angeles, CA, on 10 Apr 1970.
       Casting notices in Aug 1969 and Sep 1969 issues of DV and LAT listed the following actors as cast members: Lester Smith, Jr.; Ernest Robinson; Eddie Smith; Kenny Owens; Henry Kingi; David Lewis; Donald Newsome; Harry E. Dolan, his wife Claire Dolan, and their children Mark and Stacey Dolan.