"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie onOctober 10, 1938 with Wallace Beery reprising his film role.
Wallace Beery had previously played Pancho Villa as one of the villains in the 15-chapter silent serial Patria, starring Irene Castle.
Filming began in 1931 in Mexico, but because of production delays, personnel changes and other problems, the film wasn't released until 1934.
Much of the footage originally shot by Howard Hawks is said to have been lost in a plane crash. However, Hawks claimed that most of the location footage (except battle scenes) was his.
On 19 November 1933, during location filming in Mexico, Lee Tracy, originally cast as Johnny Sykes, got drunk and urinated from his hotel balcony onto a passing military parade. He was arrested, fired from the film and replaced by Stuart Erwin. Original director Howard Hawks was also fired for refusing to testify against Tracy, and replaced by Jack Conway. However, in his autobiography, Charles G. Clarke, the cinematographer on the picture, said that he was standing outside the hotel during the parade and the incident never happened. Tracy, he said, was standing on the balcony observing the parade when a Mexican in the street below made an obscene gesture at him. Tracy replied in kind, and the next day a local newspaper printed a story that said, in effect, Tracy had insulted Mexico, Mexicans in general and the Mexican flag in particular. The story caused an uproar in Mexico, and MGM decided to sacrifice Tracy in order to be allowed to continue filming there.
The "Running W" was a device used on horses at that time which made them fall before the camera at a specific point of an action scene, often killing or injuring the animal so badly that it had to be put down.It involved a harness on the horse secured to "piano" wire which was attached to a stationary object.As the horse reached the end of the length of wire,running full tilt, it would be "tripped". The practice was finally halted after complaints from the A.S.P.C.A. The "Running W" wires can be seen clearly attached to the horses which were "shot down" in the final battle scene of this film .