The 27 Jan 1964 DV announced The Rounders, based on the 1960 Max Evans novel, as the next picture slated for actors Glenn Ford and Henry Fonda set to star. The 28 Jan 1964 DV noted that the film would be a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. (M-G-M) production.
       On 6 Feb 1964, DV reported that filmmakers, including director Burt Kennedy and producer Richard E. Lyons, were currently scouting locations in three states, beginning in Santa Fe, NM, and continuing on to Arizona and California. Filming was set to begin in May 1964. The 6 Apr 1964 and 10 Apr 1964 issues of DV noted a 4 May 1964 start date, with filming to begin in Arizona.
       According to the 6 May 1964 DV, production got underway in Sedona, AZ, where 250 locals were hired as background actors. Included in the recruits were rodeo performers, prep school students, and the Arizona State College Band.
       During filming on 8 May 1964, director Burt Kennedy suffered two broken toes when he was kicked in the foot by the horse playing “Ol’ Fooler,” as stated in the 15 May 1964 LAT, which also noted that the film was the first to use Sedona to stand in for itself onscreen.
       Peter Ford and Peter Fonda, the actor sons of co-stars Ford and Fonda, reportedly visited their fathers on set and were in talks to make cameo appearances in The Rounders, as indicated in the 8 May 1964 DV. On 21 May 1964, DV announced that the proposed scene would be a barroom brawl where they would fight their respective fathers. Although the 24 Jun 1964 DV reported that the cameo appearances were never filmed, the young men did actually appear onscreen as spectators during a street sequence in which their fathers were covering their backsides with cowboy hats.
       The town of Sedona put on its first ever “Western Days” event for the cameras, but also in hopes to start an annual tradition, according to the 21 May 1964 DV. The celebration was set for 22-23 May 1964 and would include a parade and a rodeo.
       The 25 May 1964 DV stated that the company had relocated to Flagstaff, AZ, that day for additional exteriors. The 13 Jan 1965 Var review noted that several sequences had been filmed in the Coconino National Forest, located between Sedona and Flagstaff.
       Principal photography was completed on 11 Jun 1964, as announced in that day’s DV. Filmmakers reportedly spent thirty days of location filming in AZ, before returning to M-G-M Studios on 1 Jun 1964 for interiors.
       The 10 Aug 1964 DV indicated that several watercolor paintings made by Henry Ford had been photographed, with plans that they would appear as “key art” in The Rounders.
       On 13 Nov 1964, DV indicated that plans were already in place for Ford and Fonda to appear in the sequel to Rounders, based on the recently released follow-up novel, The Great Wedding, by Max Evans, which M-G-M would again produce. However, that film never came to be.
       Promotional campaigns for The Rounders included a tie-in with the Rodeo Cowboys Association, which would involve personal rodeo appearances made by the stars of the film, as announced in the 25 Nov 1964 Var.
       According to the 9 Dec 1964 Var, which reported a Mar 1965 release date, filmmakers censored a scene that showed the bare bottoms of Sue Ane Langdon and Hope Holiday, in accordance with the objections of the Catholic Legion of Decency.
       The 5 Mar 1965 LAT stated that the film would open in Los Angeles, CA, theaters on 10 Mar 1965. The Rounders was released in New York City theaters on 28 Apr 1965, as indicated in the 29 Apr 1965 NYT review. The picture played on a double-bill with Get Yourself a College Girl (1964, see entry).
       Max Evans’s story was the inspiration for the television series, also titled The Rounders (ABC, 2 Sep 1966—3 Jan 1967). Actor Chill Wills portrayed the character of “Jim Ed Love” in both the film and television series.