Riling tells Garry that he and his partner, Indian agent Jake Pindalest, have devised an elaborate scheme to force Lufton into selling his herd cheaply.

Pindalest has rejected Lufton's cattle as unfit to feed the Indians and ordered him to remove his herd from the reservation within a week.

He and Amy assume incorrectly that Garry read the note, which described the route he wanted Riling to think he planned to take.

When Riling's thug goes to slay him the man is shot dead by Barden, who tersely tells Garry to keep riding.

To buy time, Garry deceives Pindalest, who is unaware of his break with Riling, into sending a messenger to the government to extend the deadline.

Schary accepted and signed Lillie Hayward to write the screenplay, based on Luke Short's Gunman's Chance.

When Mitchum showed up to the set dressed up in costume, Walter Brennan exclaimed: "That is the realest goddamnest cowboy I've ever seen!"

[5] Filming began in February 1948, with the Sedona, Arizona, the Rocky Mountains, California, Utah, and New Mexico serving as locations, and ended in May.

Inspired by the production design of Citizen Kane (which he had co-edited), Wise had the interior sets built with visible low-ceilings.

After the film was completed, Howard Hughes terminated Barbara Bel Geddes' contract with RKO, believing she was not sexy enough.

The New York Times gave the film a good review and lauded Robert Mitchum's acting and Lillie Hayward's screenplay: ...Blood on the Moon still stands out from run-of-the-range action dramas.

Others who give worthy help include Walter Brennan, Mr. Preston, Phyllis Thaxter, Frank Faylen and Tom Tully.

A comparative newcomer to the directorial ranks, he has managed to keep the atmosphere of this leisurely paced film charged with impending violence.

[7]The film was also reviewed favorably by Variety magazine: Blood on the Moon is a terse, tightly-drawn western drama.