At the time of its release, many critics commented favorably on director Samuel Fuller's "artistic" decision to concentrate on the feet of the participants in the actual "run of the arrow" rather than showing them in their entirety. In an interview, Fuller said there was a very simple reason for his decision: star Rod Steiger had badly sprained his ankle just before the scene was to be shot and wasn't able to walk, let alone run, so Fuller got one of the Indian extras who was built somewhat like Steiger to run in his place, which is why he shot only feet instead of close-ups or medium shots.
The film was originally produced by RKO Pictures, but the studio went bankrupt before it was released. Universal bought it from RKO and distributed it as a Universal picture.
The first film to use squibs to simulate realistic bullet impacts.