In 1937, Universal entered into a deal with Crime Club, a publisher of popular pulp mysteries, allowing it to select up to four of its books annually for production as B-pictures. The Crime Club series was produced by Irving Starr. This was the third of eleven novels produced under the deal.
Universal was in dire straits in 1937-38 as it sought to plug the cash drain created by the Laemmles, who had been ousted during the costly production of Show Boat (1936). While none of these B-pictures was especially successful, the Crime Club deal is an example of the new regime's willingness to work creative marketing tie-ins.
A Crime Club Mystery.
Most of the opening score is taken from Franz Waxman's score from "The Bride of Frankenstein" (1935).
Initially telecast Monday 25 November 1946, this was the second of four Universal Crime Club features to be aired on New York City's Dumont Television Station WABD in November-December 1946, marking the first breakthrough of major studio films being telecast in the postwar era; this actually came about because, by this time, they had fallen into the hands of Astor Pictures Corporation, who had been distributing them theatrically for the past four years. It was preceded by The Black Doll (1938) and followed by The Westland Case (1937) and Danger on the Air (1938). It would not be until ten years later that Universal itself, and the rest of the majors, opened their vaults to their longtime rival. It was first aired in Washington DC Monday 14 July 1947 on WTTG (Channel 5), in Los Angeles Sunday 14 September 1947 on KTLA (Channel 5), in Baltimore Friday 16 April 1948 on WMAR (Channel 2), in Chicago Monday 24 May 1948 on WGN (Channel 9), in Philadelphia Sunday 26 September 1948 on WCAU (Channel 10), in Lowell MA (serving the Boston Area) Monday 27 September 1948 on WBZ (Channel 4), in Fort Worth Saturday 27 November 1948 on WBAP (Channel 5), in Detroit Thursday 30 June 1949 on WJBK (Channel 2), in Salt Lake City Thursday 21 July 1949 on KSL (Channel 5), and in San Francisco Tuesday 27 September 1949 on KPIX (Channel 5).