 Anthony was in Europe when Sergio Leone's Westerns were setting box office records, but had not yet been released in America.Anthony contacted Klein, then a major stockholder at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, about releasing a Spaghetti Western, for which he had played the lead role, in the United States.Anthony had also served as an uncredited executive producer on the film, having raised $40,000 with another American, James Hagar.