Critics agreed that Presley gave one of his better acting performances as the mixed-blood "Pacer Burton", a dramatic role.

It was filmed in Utah and Los Angeles, as well as in Wildwood Regional Park in Thousand Oaks, California.

[8] Film rights were purchased by 20th Century Fox and Nunally Johnson was assigned to write the script.

"[12] Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando were originally slated to play the brothers[13] before Fox decided to cast Presley in the lead role.

[12] Presley recorded a theme song, but it was later rerecorded as "Flaming Star", using the same words and melody.

All they did was put in a kind of a hoedown dance and Presley sang a song at the opening and then they went right on into the picture.

[13] The film received generally positive reviews, with a few critics lauding Presley's performance and noting his improvement as an actor.

"[21] Variety called the plot "disturbingly familiar and not altogether convincing, but the film, attractively mounted and consistently diverting, will entertain and absorb the audience it is tailored for.

"[22] Harrison's Reports graded it "Very good," calling Presley "believable" and John McIntire "a powerful figure.

"[23] Charles Stinson of the Los Angeles Times appraised the film as "standard for its type — the half-breed tragedy — but done well enough to head a program double bill."

'"[24] Richard L. Coe of The Washington Post criticized the film for "flat, one-syllable dialogue" and "ruthless predictability," though he found some of the outdoor shots "handsome.

"[25] The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote that although the film "never really gets beyond the comic-strip weepie stage," director Siegel "has managed to communicate considerable excitement through flashes of imaginative cutting and handsome composition, notably in the first Indian attack, and in some realistically staged fight, chase and battle passages ...

But Siegel's main achievement is his direction of Elvis Presley, still basically not an actor, but no longer a joke as a screen personality.

The government, which had strict laws to keep the races separate, banned the picture that same day because Presley "played the son of an American Indian woman and a white man."

A day later, 20th Century Fox appealed, convincing the South Africa Board of Censors to lift the ban as long as it would not be shown to the country's indigenous population.