The composition "I Cover the Waterfront" became a popular jazz standard, in both vocal and instrumental versions, and was performed and recorded by many bands and vocalists from the 1930s on. Originally, the book the movie was based on inspired the tune; it was not written for the movie. However, the movie was re-scored just before its release to include the tune as an instrumental. Written by Johnny Green and Edward Heyman, the song went on to become a jazz standard recorded by many artists, including Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, The Ink Spots, and Ella Fitzgerald, among others.
I Cover the Waterfront (1933) was based on the book I Cover the Waterfront by Max Miller, a reporter who covered the San Diego waterfront for the San Diego Sun, (New York, 1932).
The failure of the original copyright holder to renew the film's copyright resulted in it falling into public domain, meaning that virtually anyone could duplicate and sell a VHS/DVD copy of the film. Therefore, many of the versions of this film available on the market are either severely (and usually badly) edited and/or of extremely poor quality, having been duped from second- or third-generation (or more) copies of the film.
According to Har, the book that was the basis of I Cover the Waterfront (1933) was Max Miller's autobiography, which covered his life as a reporter on the San Diego waterfront. The book was about a reporter who investigates a waterfront smuggling operation, and becomes romantically involved with the daughter of the man he is investigating. Har commented that the original "sketchy" story was "not suitable for a picture" and did not have the love story that was at the center of the film.