Final Hollywood film of Stewart Granger.

The day after Johnny Horton's recording of the theme song was released, he was killed in a car crash. Despite the singer not being around to promote the record, it reached #1 on the country charts and #4 on the Hot 100. It also reached #23 in the UK.

Years after the production was first shown in public, the producers of the film admitted that, in the scene where Capucine is trying to laugh, she was actually tickled on her feet and that her laughs and pleas for mercy were entirely genuine.

John Wayne was told during the preparation of the film that director Richard Fleischer did not want to make the movie because of Wayne; the actual reason was that Fleischer found the screenplay not good enough for him. Several weeks later in a Madrid, Spain hotel, Wayne met Fleischer and asked why he refused to direct him. Fleischer told him the truth and Wayne seemed to understand. However, fourteen years later, when producer Hal B. Wallis proposed Fleischer to direct a movie for Wayne and Katharine Hepburn, Wayne told Wallis that he wouldn't work with Fleischer.

Although they were playing brothers, Stewart Granger was 30 years older than Fabian.

Continuity

When Billy Pratt and Angel are having dinner, Billy opens a bottle of champagne that sprays out and douses one of the candles on the table. In the very next shot, Billy has his hand over the mouth of the bottle to stop the spray and the candle is lit. The candle is then out again, then lit again, then out a third time in following shots.

Inside the cabin, Sam hasn't quite finished buttoning Michelle's blouse when George enters. Later, the blouse appears completely buttoned.

When Frankie shows Angel her room, he puts his cigar in a wall mounted ash tray. When he leaves a few minutes later the cigar is missing as he goes.

In the major fight, Frankie Canon is knocked face-down into fairly deep mud. Seconds later he is shown "pre-fight clean" and then somewhat muddied shortly thereafter (but, even then, not as muddy as he should be).

When Sam is getting on the ferry taking him to the boat to Seattle, he finds Billy on the ferry also. Sam puts his bag on top of a crate and throws Billy overboard. When he turns to yell to George, the bag is no longer on top of the crate behind him.



Revealing mistakes

In the scene when Sam McCord (John Wayne) and George Pratt (Stewart Granger) are coming out of the Palace escorting Peter Boggs to the Land Commissioner, Frankie pulls up in a wagon to race into the Palace to get Peter Boggs. When the fight starts and Frankie hits John Wayne, Wayne stumbles back. As he stumbles, he loses his cowboy hat. When his hat comes off, so does his toupee. As he turns around and you can see the bald spots on the top and back of his head.

When Angel slaps Frankie in the hotel room, there is a loud slap when her hand makes contact with his face, but she's wearing gloves at the time. There would be no slapping sound from a gloved hand slapping someone's face.

In the cabin scene, when Billy is crooning to Angel, the scene changes from Billi to Angel in the bath. At this moment, Angel's left nipple is visible.

When Arnie swings down to help Sam under the sluice boxes during the shoot-out, the actor grabs onto the lens shade of the camera and pulls it down into the frame. The shade is visible for two to three frames.

When Dugan strikes Arnie over the head with the rifle, you can see the rifle bend. The rifle is obviously a movie prop made out of rubber.



Miscellaneous

The pole climb is purportedly shown in real time. While Sam's winning time is announced as 58 seconds, it only took 44 seconds of screen time.



Anachronisms

Edison Blue Amberol cylinder records are played in the stateroom scene and honeymoon cabin. The film is set in 1900, but these records were not manufactured until 1912.



Errors in geography

During the sequence when Sam and George are helping to defend the claim, you can see Mt. Whitney in the background which is in California.

The Bonanza Gold was found in Canada near the Yukon, nowhere near Nome Alaska.



Plot holes

Time line mistake: When Sam goes to help George and Arnie it takes him all night to get there (after the night cabin scene with Michelle and Billy). But after the fight at Arnie's Sam returns to the cabin the same morning (Michelle and Billy are still sleeping).