Both the Producer and the Director, Delmer Daves and Julian Blaustein had a hard time finding the correct actor for the role of Cochise. They wanted a specific voice and stature that was hard to find. They first considered Ezio Pinza, before they settled for Jeff Chandler, who they though fit the role of Cochise well.
Delmer Daves chose to approach the he American natives differently than the mainstream media portrays them. Instead of the wild and hostile people, they were open, proud and gentle. The controversial part of the production were the actors, as many of them were played by white people instead of actual natives, though they haven’t received any negative feedback on it.
Twentieth-Century Fox hired a Native American folklorist to promote the film and check the screenplay. He discussed and explained part of the Native Americans that the Director had disconcerted, such as a “Indian Princess”, as the title never existed in the real Native American society, but was a misconception made after the release of Pocahontas.
