Director Fritz Lang had originally planned to call this film "Chuck-a-Luck". However, studio head Howard Hughes insisted that its name be changed to "Rancho Notorious", and when Lang asked why, he was told that it was because non-Americans (Europeans) wouldn't understand what "Chuck-a-Luck" (a gambling game commonly played in saloons in the Southwest) meant. Lang replied, "Well, it's a good thing that they all know what 'Rancho Notorious' (which has nothing to do with anything in the film) means!"
Cinematographer Hal Mohr, who had previously photographed Marlene Dietrich in "Destry Rides Again" (1939), attempted to resign from the film due to 50-year old Dietrich's insistence that he use lighting to make her look much younger than she actually was, and Mohr didn't think it was possible.
The ballad "The Legend of Chuck-a-Luck" is heard during the opening credits and throughout the film, using the lyrics as narration. According to the American Film Institute, this is the first American film to use a song in this manner.