In 1937, Universal had entered into a deal with Crime Club, a prolific publisher of pulp whodunits, allowing it to produce up to 4 of it's novels annually. This was the 4th entry of 11 that were eventually produced, all as B-pictures.
During the course of the film, Peter Lind Hayes does vocal imitations of Rudy Vallee, Walter Winchell, Ben Bernie and Bing Crosby.
First telecast Monday 9 December 1946, this was the last of four Universal Crime Club features to be aired on New York City's Dumont Television Station WABD in November-December 1946, marking the first breakthrough of major studio films being telecast in the postwar era; this actually came about because, by this time, they had fallen into the hands of Astor Pictures Corporation, who had been distributing them theatrically for the past four years. The three that preceded it were The Black Doll (1938), The Lady in the Morgue (1938), and The Westland Case (1937). It would not be until ten years later that Universal itself, and the rest of the majors, opened their vaults to their longtime rival. In Washington DC it first aired Monday 21 July 1947 on WTTG (Channel 5), in Los Angeles Sunday 21 September 1947 on KTLA (Channel 5), in Chicago 11 March 1948 on WBKB (Channel 4), in Baltimore Saturday 8 May 1948 on WMAR (Channel 2), in Cincinnati Friday 19 August 1949 on WKRC (Channel 11), in Albuquerque Saturday 22 October 1949 on KOB (Channel 4) and in San Francisco Tuesday 13 December 1949 on KPIX (Channel 5) .
A Crime Club Mystery. Based on "Death Catches Up with Mr. Kluck," by Xantippe. The novel's author Xanthippe, was the pseudonym of Edith Meiser, who wrote and produced extensively for radio.
While the Crime Club deal was not wildly successful, it is an example of "New" Universal's willingness to work economical tie-ins in an attempt to plug the cash drain created by the Laemmle's, who had been ousted during the production of Show Boat (1936). Ultimately the studio would be saved through a combination of severe cost cutting measures implemented by Charles R. Rogers, the signing of Deanna Durbin and secured by the wildly popular duo, Abbott & Costello.