In the Summer of 1952, RKO reissued this film as a double feature with King Kong (1933). RKO cashed in, as young theatergoers, due to this film's title, were expecting to see a second creature film.
Val Lewton's production team at RKO was given the titles in advance by the studio heads, and then he and his team were responsible for finding a story and making a movie around that title.
William Friedkin credits the film as being an inspiration towards Alfred Hitchcock's Psychose (1960) and Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994) in how it follows characters we believe to be the leads only to leave them behind for long stretches as we shift to other characters instead. "They're simply pawns in a greater structure that was at the time completely unpredictable and, therefore, suspenseful."
There are several unidentified musical pieces used during the film. However, the unusual birthday song sung a cappella to Consuela is called "Las mañanitas"; it also turns up in La montée au ciel (1952).