The scandalous cover-up depicted in the film is supposedly based on a real-life incident involving a young John Huston. Louis B. Mayer apparently paid gossip columnist Louella Parsons a large sum of money not to disclose the incident in her column.
Because of its vitriolic take on Tinseltown, this was unsurprisingly turned down by all the major studios in Hollywood. It eventually found a home at United Artists.
The part of Charles Castle was originally written for John Garfield. He was supposed to reprise his role in the film version but died in 1952 of a premature heart attack.
Shot in 15 days.