ASSAULT ON A QUEEN was based on an unlikely story. Treasure hunters discover a sunken German U-Boat, repair it and then use it to rob the Queen Mary in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The story was based on a six-part series written by Jack Finney and original serialized in the Saturday Evening Post. Veteran producer Ray Stark bought the rights to the novel in 1960 but shelved it because he didn't think an audience would buy into the premise. A year later, after a Portuguese cruiser liner was hijacked by terrorists, interest was renewed in the novel. Producer William Goetz at Seven Arts Productions took the project to Paramount Pictures, who agreed to distribute the film. Goetz hired Rod Serling (THE TWILIGHT ZONE) to adapt the novel. Goetz was an old friend of Frank Sinatra's and was able to convince the Chairman to star in and co-produce the film under Sinatra Enterprises, his own production company. Sinatra was at the height of his popularity in the mid 1960s and his involvement with the project immediately raised interest in ASSAULT ON A QUEEN