This was the first film set in the prison on Alcatraz Island, which had opened in 1934.
The Attorney General of the U.S., Homer S. Cummings (1870-1956) opposed the release of this film, saying it created a "romantic image of Alcatraz as a Gangster Hall of Fame".
Studio publicity information for this film notes a replica of Alcatraz prison was constructed on a hill in the San Fernando Valley, California.
This film was banned by censors in Sweden, Finland, and Trinidad upon its initial release.
As the film was produced by Cosmopolitan Productions, headed by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, much was made in the press at the time about the Production Code Office's numerous objections to many aspects of this film - so much so that it was speculated that Hearst greatly exaggerated the controversy so as to stir up interest in the picture.