Commercially and critically successful on release, it was a global box office success – particularly internationally in UK, France, Germany, Russia, South Korea and Japan – and it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score – one which is listed in the American Film Institute’s list of The Top 25 American Film Scores.

The film’s success and popularity came and over time grew from its cast of leading actors who were each superstars of their time, its script and its musical score.

Critical reviews of the film praised it as “a superb Western, well acted and crammed full of action, human interest, pathos, suspense, plus some romance and humor” – according to Harrison’s Reports – while the Los Angeles Times praised “John Sturges’ direction (as)… superbly staccato; making a knife-sharp use of pauses and silences, it brings out both the humor and melancholy, the humanity as well as the evil inherent in the situation”.

Akira Kurosawa, the creator of the Seven Samurai – the film which this film is based on and inspired by – was so impressed by the film that he presented John Sturges with a sword.

It is the 2nd most shown film in U.S. Television history, next to The Wizard of Oz at #1.

It stands at #79 in AFI’s list of American Cinema’s 100 Most Thrilling Films.