Debut of Timothy Carey.
During the filming, Ricardo Montalban received a spinal injury which required a 9-1/2 hour operation and which left him in constant pain for the remainder of his life.
Final film of Jack Holt.
In order to film in Technicolor while shooting on location, heavy Technicolor cameras and equipment had to be transported in by mule.
Most of the "Native Americans" in this movie are all portrayed by Hispanic or Caucasian actors, because there was a noticeable lack of Native American actors at MGM at the time this movie was made.
When the original version of the finished film was submitted to MGM executives, they didn't like it. The film went through heavy editing, and a producer had the idea of tying together the surviving pieces by adding voice-over narration from Mitchell's grown up son, as if he is telling his father's life story. Howard Keel, who had just finished making Show Boat, was brought in for this purpose. The changes led to director William A. Wellman effectively disowning the film. When asked about it in an interview, he said "I've not seen it, and I never will."