For the plantation scenes, 950 banana trees were planted over 5 backlot acres at Warner Bros. Studios.
When Frank Puglia says, "I don't believe in a third term", he was referring to the then speculative run of Franklin D. Roosevelt for an unprecedented third term as U. S. President in 1940.
Nick's (James Cagney) last line to Lee (Ann Sheridan), "You and your 14 carat oomph" was a subtle nod to Warner Brothers billing Sheridan as "the oomph girl" beginning in the late 1930s. Although it was an arguably accurate nickname, Sheridan did not care for the label.
In his early films, James Cagney would work mostly with four directors. In this movie it's William Keighley, who also directed 'G' Men (1935), Regimiento heroico (1940), La novia cayó del cielo (1941), and Muero cada amanecer (1939). The other directors were Roy Del Ruth, Lloyd Bacon, and Raoul Walsh.
George Reeves, Victor Varconi, Joseph Calleia, Alan Hale, and George Tobias all tested for the role of Rosario, with the part going to Tobias.