Many of the cases of the game are representations of real-life crimes which occurred during 1940s Los Angeles, these include:
- "The Driver's Seat" case which is loosely based on the real-life 1947 disappearance of Eugene White.
- "A Marriage Made in Heaven" case was inspired by the true story surrounding the death of Jay Dee Chitwood in 1944. It may also be inspired by the movie Pacto de Sangue (1944) where the two protagonists intend to kill off the female lead's spouse to claim the insurance money.
- "The Red Lipstick Murder" case is highly influenced by the murder of Jeanne French. Jeanne French was a 45-year-old army nurse who was discovered stripped and stomped to death early in the morning in February 1947. The case was never officially solved, but was supposedly linked to the infamous "Black Dahlia" murder because the initials "B.D." were written with lipstick on French's dead body and the murder took place just weeks after the murder of Elizabeth Short (Black Dahlia), which also took place in 1947 Los Angeles.
- "The Golden Butterfly" case is heavily based on the real life murder of Dorothy Montgomery on May 3, 1947 in Los Angeles. Dorothy was mutilated which is why authorities first thought there was a connection to Elizabeth Short's murder. A Golden Butterfly Brooch was found near her body which was hers and had been torn from her blouse.
- "The Silk Stocking Murder" is loosely based on the real 1947 murder of Rosenda Mondragon.
- "The White Shoe Slaying" case is loosely based on the real-life 1947 murder of Laura Trelstad.
- "The Studio Secretary Murder" case is loosely based on the real-life 1947 murder of Evelyn Winters.
A majority of the actors in this game have appeared on the show Mad Men: Inventando Verdades (2007) including Aaron Staton who plays Cole Phelps.
The game took seven years to develop.
Even though L.A. Noire was critically acclaimed and sold well, the game's lengthy development and use of cutting edge facial capture technology caused the studio, Team Bondi, to close down shortly after its release.
Aaron Staton and Connie Fletcher - who portrayed Cole Phelps and his wife, Marie - are married to each other in real life.