Although the story is fictional, it is inspired by a real incident in which a posse from a California town had a shoot-out with convicts escaped from the Carson City prison. Convict Lake is a real place in California, named after the incident.
In his memoir, Glenn Ford's son says his father spoke very warmly about working with Gene Tierney and Ethel Barrymore, who kept morale high with her dry humour. However, Ford had a painful viral infection in his left-eye, which meant that he had to wear an eyepatch between takes.
Because he refused to testify to the House of Unamerican Activities committee, Michael Gordon was blacklisted and would not direct a motion picture again until Bettgeflüster (1959).