[1] Based on the 1847 novel by Friedrich Gerstäcker, the film was the first pairing of Brad Harris and Tony Kendall with Gianfranco Parolini as a second unit director.

The film's sets were designed by the art directors Hans Berthel and Johannes Ott.

Based on an island in the Mississippi River a pirate gang terrorize the town of Helena and the steamboats.

Sheriff James Lively can't stop pirate boss Kelly from tricking the Cherokees into helping him attack a steamboat with a precious cargo.

[4] It passed German censors on 18 October 1963 and was released to television in West Germany on 22 June 1969.