When Humphrey Bogart was told that director Nicholas Ray wanted to film the entire 'sentencing statement for the defense' sequence in a single take, Bogart was concerned because he had never delivered such a long speech without cuts and feared he couldn't do it. Ray calmed Bogart down, suggested several rehearsals, and much to Bogart's surprise, Ray rolled during the rehearsals filming most of what has become the famous and well-played sentencing sequence.
Humphrey Bogart offered Marlon Brando the role of Nick Romano, even visiting him backstage at a production of "A Streetcar Named Desire". Brando lost interest but loved Nick's motto: "Live fast, die young and leave a good-looking corpse."
Identified by critic Thom Andersen as an example of "film gris", a suggested sub-category of film noir incorporating a left of center political point of view.
This was the first film made by Humphrey Bogart's independent production company, Santana Pictures Corp. - named after his yacht. He chose Nicholas Ray to direct because he had greatly admired his directorial debut Sie leben bei Nacht (1948).
Producer Mark Hellinger had owned the rights to the novel and was planning to film it when he opened his own production company in late 1947. Humphrey Bogart was to be a partner in Mark Hellinger Productions. However, Hellinger died in December 1947. It is probable that Bogart purchased the rights from Hellinger's estate some time in 1948, and this film was the first production of Bogart's independent company, Santana Productions, that he formed with producer/writer Robert Lord. Warner Bros. boss Jack L. Warner was reported to be furious with Bogart for doing this, fearing other actors would do this and diminish the studio's power and control - which is exactly what happened.