The song "Hail to the Chief," played to announce President Grant's arrival, was a relatively new piece for that purpose at the time the film is set. The song was written in England around 1812 and was used sporadically at presidential functions until the 1840s. President Tyler's wife suggested that it be used to announce the president's arrival at all functions, which was further encouraged by her successor, First Lady Sarah Childress Polk after her husband took office in 1845. The tune has announced the arrival of every U.S. president since except for Chester Arthur, who didn't like the tune.
The drinking of the two leads, Flynn and Sheridan, caused numerous delays and budget overruns according to a memo written by studio boss Jack L. Warner. Production was further delayed after Sheridan developed laryngitis. It was already a large and expensive production with hundreds of extras and over 75 speaking roles, but the stars' behavior made shooting last nearly five months.
After stuntman Jock Mahoney pulled off the spectacular stair jump for Errol Flynn in Adventures of Don Juan (1948) he doubled for the actor in this film, Montana (1950), Kim (1950) and Against All Flags (1952).
In Hedda Hopper's column of 19 December 1946, she announced Warner Bros. has purchased the film rights to the story as a vehicle for Humphrey Bogart.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
