Goofs

When the movie starts with the race between the camel and the horses, the camel has a clear lead by more than a length. Then in the next frames, the dark brown horse to the camel's right barely trails, then clearly catches and starts to pass the camel. But in the next frames, that horse's head is struggling to keep pace with the camel's hips.

When Gil pours Judge Tolliver a shot of whiskey, he tosses aside the cork, which falls down the back of the chest. When he sets the bottle down, the cork is beside it.

On the honeymoon evening, Billy throws his brother out of one side of the tent, but from the outside, that flap is tied shut and his brother falls out of the other side.

When Gil pours the judge a drink, his hand changes position on the bottle between shots. The hat on the bed also changes from old and dented to being in mint condition.

The first night by the creek with Elsa, Heck's position with/behind her changes with each camera angle. And just before the kiss, his hand reaches for her twice, between shots.

Despite the presence of a Mercury dime, during Steve Judd's attempt to bet on his carnival sharpshooting, this Western could not be set in 1916 (the year these dimes were first issued). Hester Knudsen's grave marker clearly states that she died in 1885 at circa age 40. Presumably, from giving birth so late in life to her daughter and only child, Emily. But, there is no way Emily could still look to be in her early twenties by age 31. Not between normal aging and the harsh life she was living under her over-possessive religious fanatic father. It is therefore more plausible that the story is set eight years earlier, in 1908, at which point Emily would've been age 23 (much closer to Mariette Hartley's real world age in 1963).

Returning to Elsa's farm at the end of the movie and looking down at it from the hill, a set of dual tire tracks can be seen in the dirt.

Near the beginning, Randolph Scott claims to have been the Oregon Kid, who tamed Witchita, among other cities. It should have been Wichita.

Henry Hammond (Warren Oates) repeatedly rapid-fires his carbine rifle without injecting a new shell by either lever action or pump action. Such an automatic carbine was not available until World War II. EDIT: Henry Hammond is not firing an automatic rifle. He is firing a Remington Model 8 semiautomatic carbine, released in 1906. A semiautomatic rifle ejects the spent cartridge and reloads without a lever or pump and fires as rapidly as the shooter can squeeze the trigger. The time-setting of the movie is 1896 - 1908, so Henry Hammond's carbine is appropriate for the time-setting.

The "snow" shown on the ground in a number of scenes in the mining camp is obviously foam. This is clear from, for example, the scene when Billy Hammond (James Drury) throws his brother Jimmy (John Davis Chandler) out of the "honeymoon" tent onto his back. The "snow" splatters like foam, not snow.

When Elsa is cleaning the barn, she has two shadows even though it's daylight and no lanterns in the barn are lit.

Joel McCrea, when a riding horse while wearing heavy leather riding gloves, opened a pocket knife. This is impossible, unless it was handed to him partially opened.

(at around 14 mins) In the restaurant fight, the wall moves when one of the fighters bounces off of it.

It is supposed to be night at the farm, but the sun is shining.

The many 34-star flags, all on flagpoles, at the opening of the movie do not match the Bobby helmets, open automobiles and electric wiring over the streets. The 34-star U.S. flag was in use only from 1861-1863. There is, however, also an inconsistent 45-star flag strung across the street. That design, in use from 1896-1908, does match the movie's time setting.

There are a number of indications that this film is set no later than the late 1890s or early 1900s. For example, the date of Elsa's mother's death on her tombstone and the open automobile, characteristic of early twentieth century models. However, the heavily-worn dime that Judd (Joel McCrea) bets in the booth run by Westrum (Randolph Scott) in the opening scenes is a so-called "Mercury" (Winged Liberty) dime, first minted in 1916. The dime is severely worn, however, a condition that could not have been achieved without having been in circulation for decades.

As Steve Judd, Gil Westrum, Heck Longtree and Elsa first ride into the mining camp, there is a modern tire track visible in the snow from the camera vehicle, at the lower left corner of the scene.