John Wayne gave the female lead to Gail Russell, his co-star from Angel and the Badman and Wake of the Red Witch. He did so despite being warned that she looked twenty years too old to play a 26-year-old.
John Wayne had originally intended to play the lead role himself, but was prevented from doing so due to his busy schedule.
John Wayne's company, Batjac, produced this film and he had planned to play the lead. He didn't because after preproduction had already started, John Ford contacted the Duke with a new project called The Searchers, which Wayne opted to star in instead. Since money was already being spent to make "Seven Men From Now", it could not be stopped without losing that money. John Wayne asked Randolph Scott to play the lead in his place.
This film was rarely seen for decades, occasionally being shown at film festivals, until it was released on DVD as a restored, "Special Collectors Edition" nearly 50 years after its theatrical release.
This film was the beginning of a collaboration between Randolph Scott and the director, Budd Boetticher, that revived Scott's career. They made six more films together over the next few years. Scott himself credited the film with reviving a dead career.