The movie was made because although the new owners of Universal Studios in 1936 were convinced that the horror genre was commercially dead, they inherited a contract stipulating Boris Karloff's participation in one more film. Carl Laemmle Jr. had signed him to this contract after the success of Frankenstein (1931), so, not knowing what other genre to put him in, they commissioned a story that would give him a suitable role but stipulated it would not be a horror film.
Because of the presence of Boris Karloff, and the slight science fiction (for the time) angle of the story, this minor film was included in Universal's Shock Theater package of 52 titles released to television in 1957, followed a year later by Son of Shock, adding 20 more features. From the late 1950s into the 70s, this film was widely shown on those television stations that were running the old Universal horror films.
This B picture was shot in 27 days for $192,000. This was 6 days and $17,000 over the initial budget and due to director Lloyd Corrigan's inexperience and star Boris Karloff's insistence that union rules regarding an 8-hour day be obeyed.
Character actor Lloyd Corrigan, an inexperienced director, had replaced Sidney Salkow, who had replaced Arthur Lubin, who had replaced Ralph Murphy.
If the main title music sounds a bit inconsistent with the crime/thriller theme of this film it is because it was recycled from the outdoor drama "Stormy", a 1935 Universal picture which, coincidently, also starred Jean Rogers.