On 5 Aug 1968, DV reported that Richard Harris had landed the leading role in a motion picture adaptation of Dorothy M. Johnson’s short story, “Man Called Horse,” which first appeared in the 7 Jan 1950 issue of Collier’s magazine. Jack DeWitt’s screenplay titled A Man Called Horse was set to be produced by Sandy Howard of Cinema Center Films (CCF). Elliot Silverstein joined the project as director the following week, and the 14 Aug 1968 DV named Gilbert Kurland as production manager on behalf of CCF. Five days later, DV announced that Marion Dougherty would serve as a casting consultant to help fill the remaining roles.
       According to a 1 Nov 1968 DV production chart, principal photography began in Mexico on 21 Oct 1968. Although the story is set in the Sioux territory of the early nineteenth century, a 13 Nov 1968 LAT article revealed that Mexican locations were substituted in an effort to accommodate Harris’s schedule and to avoid the worst part of the winter season in present-day South Dakota. Despite this change, several contemporary sources noted the filmmakers’ efforts to present an “authentic” depiction of Sioux life, including a 3 Nov 1968 LAT piece detailing production designer Denny Lynton Clark’s time researching historical dress and habitats with the modern Native Americans on South Dakota’s Rosebud Indian Reservation. Hundreds of specially designed teepees, costumes, and wigs were sent to the Sierra Mountain region near Durango, while seventy-five members of the Rosebud tribe were flown in to join the cast. In his 30 Apr 1970 review for the NYT, Vincent Canby referred to studio production notes claiming that eighty percent of the dialogue was spoken in Lakotan, presented without subtitles. DV reported that new English-language dialogue was added by John T. Kelley just two days after filming began.
       The “realistic” portrayal of Sioux culture included multiple scenes of torture and nudity, for which Harris refused to use a double. Items in the 21 Nov 1968 and 29 Nov 1968 DV referred to wounds he sustained from being dragged across the ground by a rope, while the 13 Nov 1968 LAT revealed that a $15,000 prosthetic plastic torso was used for the “initiation” scene where “Lord John Morgan” is strung up by the skin of his chest. According to the 4 Dec 1968 LAT, Harris had final approval of the nude footage and distribution of any still photography.
       While the production was still on location, the 14 Jan 1969 DV noted that filmmakers had to shoot around Judith Anderson, who underwent treatment at a Mexico City hospital for eye irritation caused by the brown contact lenses she wore to portray a Native American woman. After eighty-three days in Mexico, the unit returned to the CBS Studio Center in Studio City, CA. A 3 Feb 1969 DV brief marked the beginning of the final ten days of photography. The schedule was slightly prolonged, however, as the 7 Feb 1969 and 12 Feb 1969 Var revealed that both leading actors had been sidelined when Harris fell ill with the flu and Anderson was hospitalized with a back injury. Although filming wrapped in late Feb 1969, the 3 Mar 1969 DV suggested that the delay was sufficient enough to force Harris to drop out of the starring role in a stage production of Hamlet in London, England. The 26 Nov 1969 Var reported a final negative cost “slightly over” $4 million.
       A 25 Mar 1970 Var brief stated that Academy Award-winning stuntman Yakima Canutt contributed to the film’s action sequences.
       On 26 Sep 1969, DV announced that Leonard Rosenman would conduct his score the following month using a forty-five-piece orchestra.
       According to the 22 Apr 1970 DV, the world premiere of A Man Called Horse was scheduled to take place the following day at the West Mall theater in Sioux Falls, SD. Regular engagements began 29 Apr 1970 at the Astor and Orpheum theaters in New York City, and the Loew’s Hollywood Theater in Los Angeles, CA.
       While the filmmakers of A Man Called Horse attempted to aid Hollywood’s recent shift toward more sympathetic Native American characters, the picture sparked mixed reactions from civil rights organizations. Items in the 28 Apr 1970 and 5 May 1970 DV reported that picketers with the American Indian Movement (AIM) protested outside the Lyric Theatre in Minneapolis, MN, calling for a boycott of all ticket sales. However, Sioux historian and technical consultant Clyde D. Dollar defended the film to the 29 Apr 1970 DV and asserted that their depiction was approved by the Rosebud people.
       A 14 Nov 1968 DV article indicated that property master Ernest King and makeup chief Byron Poindexter quit the production and were replaced by CCF amid a dispute regarding living stipends during their time in Mexico. The surname of supervising sound editor Jack Finlay is misspelled in onscreen credits as “Finley.”