Uncredited producer John Huston conceived this project as a star vehicle for his estranged wife, Evelyn Keyes, as a sort of parting gift. She had long complained about her lack of challenging roles while under contract at Columbia. They were divorced by the time production began.
The uncredited voice of radio announcer John Gilvray heard throughout the film is actually that of uncredited screenwriter Dalton Trumbo. Director Joseph Losey had Trumbo record his voice-over late at night without the knowledge of any other cast or crew. He was paid $35 for this voice role. Because Trumbo was blacklisted, the screenplay was credited to his front, Hugo Butler, who himself was soon to be blacklisted.
Evelyn Keyes was deeply affected by the death of her father-in-law, Walter Huston, that occurred while the film was in production.
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."
The producer credit is for S.P. Eagle, who is in actuality Sam Spiegel, who co-produced the film along with an uncredited John Huston, under their Horizon Pictures banner.
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