The release of John Ford's first Mexican film caused controversy in Mexico, because the film brought back unwelcome memories of Mexico's dark hours under the anti-clerical rule of President Plutarco Calles during the late 1920s. Calles's attempt to suppress the influence of the Catholic Church on people's lives sparked the Cristero Rebellion (1926-1929) that took place largely in northern and central Mexico.
The source novel by Graham Greene was published under the title, "The Power and the Glory" (1940). In the U.S. it was initially published under the title "The Labyrinthine Ways", as indicated in the film's credits.