According to director Robert Wise, the movie was shot entirely in Reno, NV, in 22-23 days. They used the newspaper office there, the City Hall, the street. Not one shot was filmed in the studio.
The film is book-ended by the appearance of Sen. Estes Kefauver, who chaired the US Special Committee to Investigate Crime in Interstate Commerce, popularly known as the Kefauver Committee. Exposing the amount of infiltration of organized crime to many in the American population for the first time, the televised portions of the hearings in March of 1951, featuring big names in the gangland rackets, were a national sensation watched by tens of millions of people.
First feature film to use the Hoge Lens, which allowed a deep focus, a wider angle and needed half the light of previous lenses. This permitted the picture to be shot entirely on location, including interiors, which were normally done at a studio previously. The lens was invented by Ralph Hoge and Gregg Toland, and would become an industry standard.
First film from Aspen Productions, a company formed by directors Robert Wise and Mark Robson. Their only other film would be Return to Paradise (1953).