Jimmy and his gang go into a tobacco shop, and he orders some "Navy Twist" for his "old man." Also known as Navy tobacco, Navy cut, and Navy flake, the tobacco is twisted into a roll. For smoking, a slice (called a "twist" or "curly") is cut off and used in a pipe or sometimes to make a cigarette. Eventually, all twisted or pressed tobacco was called "Navy."
Patsy is described as a "ward heeler" which is a political operative for a party during an election, mostly involved in vote canvassing. This means Patsy worked to deliver votes from his ward to a particular political machine that was willing to reward him for it.
James Cagney's fatherly attitude toward Frankie Darro is somewhat amusing, given that Darro was supposed to play Cagney as a kid in L'ennemi public (1931) until the adult roles were switched.
George Offerman Jr. ("Charlie") appeared in both remakes of this film, L'école du crime (1938) and Hell's Kitchen (1939).
The shooting time was so tight and the budget small that the whole crew had to work around the clock, sleeping only a couple of hours from time to time.