They Came to Cordura

Although Gary Cooper was 57, his character Major Thorn was forty years old according to the novel. Early in the film it is mentioned that Thorn's father had recently been killed while still on active service.

One of the soldiers is singing the folk song Denver, which was written by Randy Sparks for the New Christy Minstrels in 1962. The movie is set during the Mexican Wars of 1916. How a song written in 1962 was sung in a movie made in 1959 is a complete mystery.

Opening credits prologue:

On the night of March 8th, 1916, a large mounted force of Mexican rebels under Pancho Villa crossed the American Border and attacked the town of Columbus, New Mexico, killing and wounding both American civilians and soldiers.

As a result of this action,the United States Army sent an expedition into Mexico with orders to capture Villa and disperse his forces.

It was during this campaign that one man, an United States Army officer,was forced to come face to face with two of the great fundamental questions that affect mankind:

What Is Courage? What Is Cowardice?

This is the story of his search for an answer.