Joan Crawford, who played Ann Blyth's mother in Le roman de Mildred Pierce (1945), played the title role in the original 1928 version of this film, which is now considered lost.
In her autobiography, Esther Williams, who was Fernando Lamas' last wife, related that Lamas was especially proud of the size and shape of his manhood and often would greet visitors semi-erect for the shock value. Whether or not it was deliberate, proof of this can be found in this film, in which Lamas wears tight slacks and clearly is dressing to the left, particularly in the scene when he is captured by the Indian tribe and tied shirtless to the totem pole. As the camera closes in on Howard Keel cuffing Lamas, it's also apparent that Lamas isn't wearing underwear beneath his costume.
A comic duet by Bert Lahr and Marjorie Main, "Love and Kisses" (music by Rudolf Friml, lyrics by Paul Francis Webster) was deleted from the release print. The filmed number is included on the 2011 DVD from Warner Bros. The Lahr-Main audio was first presented on the 1954 soundtrack LP from MGM Records, and a CD track is available on a 2011 import from the 101 Distribution label.
A testament to the many ways a studio could constantly reconfigure its constellation of contract stars: Howard Keel pines romantically for Ann Blyth in this film; one year later, the two would be re-teamed as father and daughter in L'étranger au paradis (1955).
The Indian chant is led by Thurl Ravenscroft, a rare on-screen performance by the man whose voice was renowned for his animated and voice-over work.