It was filmed near Roswell, New Mexico and features Richard Harris, Sheila Tousey, Alan Bates, Dermot Mulroney and River Phoenix.

He finds the dead wife's sister (Arredondo), who is a champion horse rider and Mr. McCree's daughter, which makes her only half-Indian.

Sam Shepard was inspired to write Silent Tongue after researching medicine shows and the gullible idea of a magic potion or cure all.

[3] Rosow was impressed by the story and took the project to Ludi Boeken of French production company Belbo Films who helped secure financing from Groupe Canal+ and Hachette Premiere.

[5] Peter Travers from Rolling Stone awarded the film 4/4 stars, calling it "a demanding chunk of Shepard frontier poetry that shuns pretty-boy posturing".