Based on the Marie Baumer play "Penny Arcade", directed by William Keighley, which debuted on Broadway on March 11, 1930. It flopped, running just three weeks, enabling Al Jolson to pick up the screen rights for $20,000. He resold it to Warner Brothers at a tidy profit with a proviso that James Cagney and Joan Blondell be cast in their original roles.
This film is primarily notable because it marked the movie debut of the electrifying James Cagney. Cagney was signed for the film, along with Joan Blondell, at the insistence of Al Jolson, who had seen the pair in the Broadway stage version, originally titled, "Penny Arcade," bought the rights, and insisted that they repeat their performances in the Warner Brothers film. Interestingly, though Cagney owed his film start to Jolson, the two would never meet.