Early working titles for the film includedLucky StrikeandThe Northern Story.The film, inspired in part by the gruesome Donner Party story, was shot (over a period of 15 months from spring 1924-summer 1925) both on a Hollywood studio back lot and in Truckee, California/Nevada, and premiered in New York at the Strand Theatre in mid-August, 1925....Always remember, go for the red first."BLUE - "In the blue, you get acripple....Second rule, go for the cripple before the slow kill.With a cripple, you know you""ve got him if you keep your distance and wear him down."YELLOW - "Here""s a slow kill on the yellow....Remember, aslow killmay have enough left in him o kill you before he dies."Marcellus emphasized how Capua""s spectacles were different han those in Rome: "Here at Capua we expect more than just simple butchery and we get it." And Jones was a bit touchy about being asked questions:If you""re gonna fire me, you can scrap the intelligence est.]Shortly before the film""s release (during post-production), one of its stars, Hollywood""s beloved Carole Lombard (blonde wife of Clark Gable), died at the age of 33 in a tragic airplane crash near Las Vegas on January 16, 1942.Herbie was so upset that the victim would have to suffer for a week, that devious Tatum had to soften his approach by claiming he wasn""t embellishing the truth:Tatum: I don""t know.