"Based on Irvin S. Cobb's character of 'Judge Priest'" was a compromise onscreen source credit. Fox wanted to use "Based on the Judge Priest Stories by Irwin S. Cobb," but Mr. Cobb objected because he had written over 70 stories, was still writing them, and the statement might inhibit future sales of them.
John Ford later used the line about a drinker's breath being 'like a hot mince pie' in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.
Fox bought the motion picture rights to the first three stories listed in the literature section. The fourth story, "The Mob from Massac," was inadvertently used without compensation.
Some characters were created exclusively for the film including Ellie May Gillespie, Jerome Priest, and Virginia Maydew.
Working title was "Judge Old Priest".