Richard Widmark was initially reluctant to make the film, since he felt he was fifteen years too old for the young lieutenant he played.
John Ford later admitted he had only made the film for the money, and felt it was "still crap" even after he had brought in his favorite script writer Frank Nugent to rewrite it.
James Stewart later admitted he was disappointed that his character's dark side wasn't explored further in the movie.
Filmed in 1960, not released until 1961.
The film was widely regarded as a generally light-hearted variation on an earlier John Ford western, The Searchers.
The movie's critical and commercial failure was largely blamed on the miscasting of the two leads, since James Stewart, at 52, and Richard Widmark, at 45, were both much older than their characters.
This film marked comedic actor Edward Brophy's last role as he died during the production on May 27, 1960 in Pacific Palisades, California.
This was the last film in which James Stewart wore his familiar cowboy hat. Up to this point, he had worn it in all his westerns since Winchester '73, except Broken Arrow. This was Stewart's first film with John Ford, and Ford didn't want him to wear it as he thought it was the worst looking cowboy hat he had ever seen. As Stewart said in the documentary, "A Wonderful Life", Ford relented, but got back at him in their next western, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, when he didn't let Stewart wear a hat at all.