This noirish crime drama was an unusual genre for MGM, and especially for its stars, Van Johnson and Gloria DeHaven. It reflected the influence of new production chief Dore Schary who had recently moved from RKO. In only a few years, Schary would replace Louis B. Mayer.
This film has many actors cast against previous types. Van Johnson had appeared in light comedies and musicals, making him a teen idol at the time. His versatility, proven in this film, would lead to his role in Battleground (1949). Gloria DeHaven has previously been cast as sweet, innocent girls, but here she is a stripper and gun moll. Arlene Dahl, who would have been expected to play the stripper, here plays a nagging wife.
This was the final film for producer Harry Rapf, ending a career of over thirty years and over eighty films. He died one week into principle photography on February 6, 1949.
This film was a success at the box office for MGM, earning a profit of $151,000 ($1.53M in 2016) according to studio records.
According to a contemporary article in The Hollywood Reporter, Donna Reed was set to play the role of Gloria Conovan.