Zanuck agreed in producing the story, on the condition that Wellman would also direct two other films for the studio, Thunder Birds (1942) and Buffalo Bill (1944). There are several differences between the film and the novel, notably the fate of the Tetleys and the fate of the lynch mob. In the book, young Gerald commits suicide by hanging himself in the barn. This leads his father to fall on his cavalry sword. The sheriff stares down each member of the mob, but then he says he will forget everything. The role of Gil Carter, played by Henry Fonda, was originally offered to Gary Cooper, who turned it down. Fonda was generally unhappy with the quality of the films he was cast in while under contract with 20th Century Fox. This was one of only two films from that period that he was enthusiastic about acting in (the other was The Grapes of Wrath, made in 1940). Fonda regarded this film as one of his favorites. Filming was done from late June to early August 1942, mostly in studio back-lots and sound stages; a limited amount of location shooting was done at a ranch in Chatsworth and in Lone Pine, both in California. Additional sequences and retakes were done mid-August to late August. The production on the film would be shut down for a week or ten days "due to the $5,000-per-film limit on new construction materials" (imposed by the War Production Board). During the shutdown, already used sets were torn down so their materials could be used to build the mountain pass set. Studio publicity noted that the Ox-Bow Valley setting was "the largest set ever constructed" by Fox, covering . The western street set seen in this film was subsequently used in another western, The Gunfighter (1950), which starred Gregory Peck. After filming was completed, Fonda immediately enlisted in the U.S. Navy, in which he served until 1946. After the film was completed, it was kept on the shelf for months because Fox executives were uncertain how to market a film with such a sobering theme. Reception The film received mostly positive reviews. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote that it "is not a picture which will brighten or cheer your day. But it is one which, for sheer, stark drama, is currently hard to beat." Variety called it a "powerful preachment against mob lynching ...