The 30 Jul 1963 DV reported that Gordon Kay & Associates purchased motion picture rights for Renegade Posse, the 1958 novel by Marvin H. Albert. The film version, provisionally titled after the novel, was intended as a vehicle for war hero-turned-actor Audie Murphy. The 6 Nov 1963 DV noted that it would be the first of Murphy’s color releases from Universal Pictures.
       As stated in the 22 Oct 1963 issue, producer Gordon Kay ordered a five-day postponement on location filming in St. George, UT, as the area was inundated with deer hunters. Principal photography was re-scheduled to begin 30 Oct 1963, the day after hunting season closed. According to the 11 Nov 1963 DV, the cast returned from St. George and resumed production at Universal Studios in Los Angeles, CA. A news item in the 25 May 1964 LAT noted that the studio property department was unable to supply Murphy with a Sharps buffalo rifle, so he used one from his private collection.
       The 15 Mar 1964 LAT revealed that, while on location, the company hired twenty-four Native Americans from the nearby Shivwits Reservation to comprise “an Apache war party.” Coordinated by Shivwits resident Danny Bullets, the group of accomplished horsemen included members of the Pima, Navajo, and Ute nations. Other castings included Charles Horvath, Henry Wills, and Bob Herron (7 Nov 1963 DV), and Jonathan Kidd (18 Nov 1963 DV).
       On 20 Dec 1963, DV announced Bullet for a Badman as the official title. The film opened 24 Jul 1964 in New York City at seventeen theaters. A review in the 29 Jun 1964 DV was fairly positive, noting the “plot twist,” in which the hero usurps the villain’s wife and son, as a unique aspect. The picture received a Class A-II rating from the Legion of Decency, declaring it “morally unobjectionable for adults and adolescents.”
       Box office reports in the 16 Sep 1964 Var indicated that the film closed that month in Providence, RI.