The script originally called for Whit (Kyle Eastwood) to get high from smoking marijuana, but Clint Eastwood, who is very anti-drug, refused, even with Kyle using a prop cigarette. Eastwood finally relented to his son's character getting high from a contact buzz.
Final movie appearance of country singer Marty Robbins (Smoky). Because of a heart attack following cardiac surgery, Robbins died just a few weeks before this movie was released in theaters.
Clint Eastwood plays a depression era singer in this movie. In the documentary "Clint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso (1994)," Eastwood stated how this movie was personally relevant to him as he had grown up during the Great Depression in the 1930s. In actuality, however, Eastwood grew up in a wealthy area, lived in a two-story house with a swimming pool in the backyard, belonged to the country club, and each of his parents drove his or her own car.