Two tragedies befell William Powell prior to the making of this movie: the unexpected death of his fiancée, Jean Harlow, and a difficult battle with colon cancer that required colon bypass surgery and new radiation treatments. Production of this film was delayed as a result. Powell was given a standing ovation when he finally returned to the set for filming.
Based on the story "The Farewell Murder" (1930) by Dashiell Hammett.
The elegant car that carries Nick and Nora to Col. MacFay's estate is a 1935 Lincoln. An expensive, low-production car, only about 1400 were made that year. The major movie studios kept a number of such expensive cars around for executive purposes, and the cars often did double duty as props as required in production.
The Colonel's car has "New York World's Fair" license plates. The Fair took place in 1939, the same year the film was released.