The movie had an interesting preview trailer. In the trailer, Ricky Nelson finishes playing his guitar, then he turns to the camera and talks about the exciting nature of the film. After some clips are shown, they cut back to Nelson who lists the cast members. When he does not mention his own name, we hear the voice of Dean Martin say off camera "What about Rick Nelson"?
The movie was made by Howard Hawks and John Wayne as a counter-response to the underlying theme and point of view of High Noon.
The sets in Old Tucson are built to 7/8th scale, so the performers look larger than life.
The song "My Rifle, My Pony and Me" was originally used as the theme for Red River, another John Wayne western. The original title was "Settle Down".
There are only two close-ups in the movie: Joe firing his gun and Dude's hands trying to roll a cigarette.
This was Howard Hawks' first film in four years. After the critical and box office failure of Land of the Pharaohs, Hawks took a break from directing and lived in Europe.
Wayne's character is called "Sheriff", "Chance", and "John T." all through the movie. The only time he is called "John" is by Dude after he is ambushed at the stable.
When cast on this movie, for publicity, the production had Angie Dickinson's legs insured by Lloyds of London.