A working title for this film was Phantom Hoofs. The film is loosely based on the exploits of legendary Mexican bandit Joaquin Murieta, who, in the mid-19th century, went to California and, according to the legend, swore vengeance against Americans and began of a series of robberies in the mining country after being discriminated against by white men. Varying accounts of Murieta's exploits in the California Mother Lode exist, including one story claiming that he was seized and decapitated by a ranger who killed him for a reward. Other films about Murieta that were made in the 1930s are the 1936 M-G-M film Robin Hood of El Dorado and the 1937 Principal Productions film The Californian (see below). MPH lists Teddy Tetzlaff , rather than Charles Van Enger, as cameraman. According to modern sources, the cast also included Paul Fix, Frank Ellis, Al Taylor, Blackjack Ward and Slim Whitaker. Modern sources also list Sol Lesser as the producer. The Avenger was remade by Columbia in 1942 as Vengeance of the West, directed by Lambert Hillyer and starring Bill Elliott and Tex Ritter. Other films featuring a character identified with Murieta include the 1919 D. W. Griffith film Scarlet Days, starring Richard Barthelmess and Clarine Seymour (see below); the 1927 Paramount film The Gay Defender, directed by Gregory Le Cava and starring Richard Dix and Thelma Todd (see below) and the 1965 film Murieta, filmed in Spain and distributed by Warner Bros., which starred Jeffrey Hunter and Arthur Kennedy (see AFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1961-70; F6.3351).