"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie onMarch 12, 1951 with John Wayne reprising his film role.
John Ford decided to cast John Wayne as Captain Nathan Brittles after seeing his performance as Thomas Dunson in Red River.
John Wayne, who was 41 when the film was made, won great acclaim for his convincing portrayal of the 60-year-old Captain Brittles.
As the regiment's blacksmith, named "Wagner", is seen at work, we can hear the orchestra playing the "Nibelung"-motif from Richard Wagner's famous opera, "Siegfried". In the opera the motif is connected with the forging of Siegfried's sword.
Based on the paintings and illustrations of Frederic Remington, the artist renowned for his nostalgic packaging of the bygone "real" West for an urban public.
In the graveyard, one of the crosses carries the name "DeVoto", this is likely an homage to Bernard DeVoto, a prominent historian of the American West.
Sergeant Tyree's horse is named "Laddie".
The exterior shots of Capt. Brittles' quarters and the building where Major Mac Allshard, Commanding Officer Fort Starke has his HQ are still standing and in Monument Valley itself near to the town of Kanab. The HQ building is now a museum and both are open to the public.
The horse that Ben Johnson rode in this film was a famous movie horse used by many stars in many 40s and 50s movies. It was a big sorrel stallion called "Steel" and was owned by Ben Johnson's father in law "Fat Jones" who ran one of the most successful horse renting stables in Hollywood. The horse, which was known for being very quiet but flashy, was ridden by John Wayne in "Tall in the Saddle" and "The Conqueror", Gregory Peck in "Yellow Skies" and Clark Gable in "The Tall T". The horse made stars look like good riders and Fat Jones always insisted if "Steel" was used in movies, the company hired every other horse used in the movie from his stable, so "Steel" was worth a fortune to him. "Steel" had his own double and the horse that Ben Johnston rides in the galloping scenes was not "Steel" but a spectacular galloper called "Bingo". "Steel" was no movie prima donna however. Ben Johnston also rode him when he won his world champion calf roping title. Ben Johnston also rode both "Steel" and "Bingo" in "Wagonmaster".
The medal Capt. Brittles is wearing during the final troop review is the GAR medal worn by Civil War veterans.
When Sgt. Quincannon (Victor McLaglen) is addressing the troops and warning them to "watch them words," he asks who owns a dog, without receiving an answer. He concludes, "Nice dog! Irish setter!" The scene was improvised on the spot by director John Ford. The dog was an unnamed Navajo pet that had fallen asleep during the setup. Multiple takes were required because McLaglen kept blowing the line, calling the dog a "cocker spaniel."