The protest march of the "army of the unemployed" in the story was no doubt a reference to the protest march of the "Bonus Army" in 1932, where veterans of WWI marched on Congress to demand payment of promised bonuses. They were attacked with tanks and tear gas by the U.S. Army led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur on orders of President Herbert Hoover. William Randolph Hearst, who railed against that action in his newpapers, saw to it that the President in this film helped the people. Meanwhile, Louis B. Mayer, a staunch Republican, delayed the movie until Hoover was out of office.
A scene for the movie depicting bullets fired at the President's car was deleted following the attempted assassination of President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The onscreen credit for the author of the novel was "Anonymous," but Thomas Frederick Tweed is listed in the movie's copyright entry.
Included in The New Republic's list of "The 100 Most Important Political Films of All Time."
This film's initial television presentation took place Monday 28 January 1957 in both Chicago and Minneapolis on WBBM (Channel 2) and on KMGM (Channel 9); in Altoona it first aired 17 February 1957 on WFBG (Channel 10), in Philadelphia 28 March 1957 on WFIL (Channel 6), in Memphis 14 May 1957 on WHBQ (Channel 13), and in Omaha 20 August 1957 on WOW (Channel 6) . Because of its age, obscurity and the dated political nature of its story, other major market telecasts eschewed it at this time, but it's now in the Turner Classic Movies inventory and vintage film enthusiasts welcome its occasional airings on TCM.