The cast member who had the hardest time with John Ford was John Agar, making his film debut. Whether it was because Agar was newly married to Ford's beloved Shirley Temple or because he wanted to test him, the director rode him mercilessly, calling him "Mr. Temple" in front of everyone, criticizing the way he delivered lines, chastising him for his lack of expert horsemanship. One day Agar stormed off, vowing to quit the picture, but John Wayne took him aside and helped him with some of the more difficult aspects of his job.
Movie censor Joseph Breen had some problems with the script. He was concerned about a scene of the men working at a manure pile as possibly offensive and insisted that a shot of two dead troopers be handled discreetly without any overt gruesomeness. He also gave orders that no toilet should be shown on screen and that drinking scenes be kept to a minimum. Breen also instructed John Ford to keep constant contact with Mel Morse, regional director of the American Humane Society, regarding any scenes involving horses or other animals.
Although John Ford would not allow wives and girlfriends onto his locations, John Wayne was allowed to bring his son Michael Wayne with him to Monument Valley. He later described the rugged conditions and the long, six-days-per-week working hours: "The only thing people could do in Monument Valley was work; there was no other diversion. But the rougher it was, the more Ford seemed to like it."
Shirley Temple, in one of her first adult roles, was pregnant during shooting and worried that riding horses or wearing her corset too tight would induce miscarriage.
John Agar never forgot the generous and patient help John Wayne gave him as an inexperienced young actor on this production. "I would go to hell and back for Duke," he later said. They worked on five more films together.