A screenplay for this film was approved by Alfred Noyes, author of its source poem, as early as the spring of 1947. First announced for a shoot in England over the summer of 1950, ''The Highwayman'' would in fact be filmed in Hollywood - with Simi Valley location shooting - from February 1951.
This was one of two 1951 cinematic releases based on an Alfred Noyes poem, the other being the Louis Hayward vehicle The Lady and the Bandit (1951), derived from Noyes' poem "Dick Turpin's Ride". Filming on "Lady and the Bandit" was underway by January 1951, one month before "The Highwayman" shoot commenced, with both films' shoots including location filming at the Ray Corrigan Ranch in Simi Valley.
First film of John Alderson.