Anecdotes

In her memoir, "Intermission", Anne Baxter said Glenn Ford and Maria Schell had become very close during production, but by the time the movie premiered in Oklahoma, the two were not speaking to each other.

The failure of this film, combined with the disastrous Les quatre cavaliers de l'apocalypse (1962), created a serious setback in Glenn Ford's run as a major box-office star. He continued working steadily, then experienced a huge rebound in the supporting role of Pa Kent in Superman (1978), which guaranteed him a string of supporting roles until his retirement in 1991. He passed away in 2006 at the age of 90.

A crowd of 1,000 extras, 700 horses and 500 wagons and buggies were used for the land rush scene.

This was a remake of Cimarron (1931), which was the first Western to win the Oscar for Best Picture. No other Western had won an Oscar for Best Picture by the time this film had been released and it would almost be 60 years before another Western was to win, Danse avec les loups (1990).

The fictional town of Osage was built on three sound stages. It comprised 11 acres of land at the MGM lot, the biggest western town in the studio's history.