"If Sam Goldwyn read the reviews of Dakota, he might have taken some satisfaction in Walter Brennan's critical drubbing. Walter had decided not to renew his contract with the producer. The actor, mimicking Goldwyn's accent, later joked that while under contract to the producer, he would be met with "Valter, you are the greatest actor in the vorld." But fifteen minutes after the contract expired, he heard Goldwyn on a studio street talking to Ned Depinet, a movie executive: "You know, Ned, that Valter Brennan is the most overrated actor in the vorld." Brennan told such stories with affection, concluding, "Well, that's Sam for you, and I love him." After all, Goldwyn had, in Brennan's words, "protected me. I could still be doing bits if he hadn't watched out for the kind of parts I played."