Novelist James Ellroy ("L.A. Confidential", "The Black Dahlia") once called this his favorite film and described it as "a masterpiece of sexual creepiness, institutional corruption and suffocating, ugly passion."
Producer John Huston was, at the time, married to lead actress Evelyn Keyes. The picture was originally conceived as a star vehicle for her.
The producer credit is for S.P. Eagle, who is, in actuality, producer Sam Spiegel, who co-produced the film along with an uncredited John Huston, under their Horizon Pictures banner.
The radio announcer heard throughout the film is actually the voice of blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, who wrote the film under the pseudonym, Hugo Butler.