The film's original title was "Me and Satan", but producer Charles R. Rogers decided to change it on the conclusion that no one would want to go to see a film about the Devil.
After his definitive performance in Scarface (1932), Paul Muni vowed never to play a gangster again. This tactic worked well for a couple of years, with an Academy Award for Louis Pasteur (1936) and an Oscar nomination for Das Leben des Emile Zola (1937), but eventually the good parts started to dwindle. By 1946, Muni was keen to play a major role again, so took the part of a gangster in this film.
Claude Rains played a similar role in Urlaub vom Himmel (1941). In that movie, he played "Mr. Jordan", who helped the central character, "Joe Pendleton", find a new body after he died. This similarity is not a coincidence, as the screenwriter for both movies was Harry Segall.
Director Archie Mayo clashed repeatedly with star Paul Muni during production. Muni didn't make another film for six years.