Final movie appearance of country singer Marty Robbins (Smoky). Because of a heart attack following cardiac surgery, Robbins died just a few weeks before this movie was released in theaters.
The script originally called for Whit (Kyle Eastwood) to get high from smoking marijuana, but Clint Eastwood, who is very anti-drug, refused, even with Kyle using a prop cigarette. Eastwood finally relented to his son's character getting high from a contact buzz.
The movie song "Honkytonk Man" was recorded by Marty Robbins. It became a hit when it peaked at number ten on the U.S. Country charts and number two on the Canadian RPM Country charts, making it his last top ten entry on both charts.