Film debut of Lee Grant who was nominated for an Oscar, before being blacklisted for refusing to testify against then-husband Arnold Manoff.
In the original play, Dr. Schneider was a provider of illegal abortions. Production Code rules forced Wyler to change the nature of the man's business to owner of "a baby farm." This was the shady practice of letting unwed mothers give birth discreetly, then give up babies for orphanages.
At 20 minutes and 10 seconds, Eleanor Parker's performance in this movie was the shortest ever to be nominated for a Best Actress Oscar.
Dame Judi Dench won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Shakespeare in Love as Queen Elizabeth I, although her screen time is only 5:52 in four scenes. This is the second-shortest performance to win an Oscar (behind only Beatrice Straight in Quinto potere (1976), who has 5:02 of screen time).
The USS Juneau, mentioned by Detective Brody, was a light cruiser sunk at the Battle of Guadalcanal in November 1942. Its loss was notable for the deaths of five brothers from the one family, the Sullivans.