Errol Flynn was criticized for playing heroes in World War II movies. Tony Thomas in his book 'Errol Flynn: The Spy Who Never Was' states that Flynn had tried to enlist in every branch of any armed services he could but was rejected as unfit for service on the grounds of his health. He had a heart condition, tuberculosis, malaria and a back problem. Flynn felt he could contribute to America's war effort by appearing in such films as Edge of Darkness (1943); Northern Pursuit (1943); Dive Bomber (1941), Objective, Burma! (1945) and Uncertain Glory (1944). Reportedly, Flynn was at his most professional and co-operative he ever was whilst working on Second World War movies. The studios apparently did not diffuse the criticism of Flynn's state-of-health as they wished to keep it quiet for fear of his box-office draw waning.
According to an article in the May 23, 1944 edition of the Los Angeles Times, while filming on location in Escondido, California, labor-starved (due to the war) farmers insisted the film crew help pick grapes before they would be allowed to shoot the film - and they did.
First film of Errol Flynn under his new contract with Warner Bros. that allowed him to choose the project, director and cast, and to participate in the profits. Flynn formed his own production company, Thomson Productions, and planed to make more films with director Raoul Walsh.
It is speculated that the writer of the original story sold rights to two different studios, Universal and Warners, as this 1944 film bears striking, unacknowledged plot similarities to the earlier 1944 film "The Impostor".
The film may be fictional, but it's based on a very real phenomenon. By August 1941, Germans had become increasingly frustrated by the French resistance (they called them the Maquis), and put into place retaliation policies whereby a number of local civilians would be shot based on the seriousness of the Maquis crime. Entire villages were massacred, and an estimated 30,000 French civilian hostages were shot to send a message to those sympathetic to the resistance throughout the occupation.