The images of the burning of the fictitious liner Wentworth Castle is taken from actual news footage of the burning of the liner SS Morro Castle. The Morro Castle caught fire on 8 September 1934 during a trip from Havana to New York. The heavy loss of life combined with the beaching of the gutted hulk in New Jersey made it one of the biggest news stories of the day.
Filming began mid June 1940, the fifth of the 6-film series, and the last to feature Boris Karloff (the last would star Keye Luke).
This 1940 movie contains an example of a suspect being advised of his rights (at least partially). When the suspect is arrested at 12:37, the detective advises him "You're under arrest for murder. Anything you say can be used against you." Police were not required to say this until 1966 Miranda v, Arizona decision.
This film can be found on many multi-film horror collections on DVD because of its star, Boris Karloff.
The earliest documented telecast of this film occurred Sunday 3 May 1942 on New York City's pioneer television station WNBT (Channel 1). Post-WWII televiewers got their first look at it in Los Angeles Monday 28 November 1949 on KTLA (Channel 5), in New York City Tuesday 11 July 1950 on the Owl Theatre on WPIX (Channel 11), and in San Francisco Sunday 30 July 1950 where it premiered the Mystery Theatre film series on KRON (Channel 4).