Very little indeed remains of Geoffrey Household's original novel in this adaptation, but the author, interviewed about it over 30 years later, conceded that "Fritz Lang made a smashing film out of my book."
Published months before the UK became involved in WWII, British author Geoffrey Household's novel never once mentions Adolf Hitler, the Nazi party, or Germany. In an interview for the release of Rogue Male (1976), Household said, "Although the idea for Rogue Male germinated from my intense dislike of Hitler, I did not actually name him in the book as things were a bit tricky at the time and I thought I would leave it open so that the target could be either Hitler or Stalin. You could take your pick." Over 40 years after the release of the first book, Household wrote the sequel Rogue Justice: this time the target is unambiguous.
When this movie was made, America was not part of World War II. At this time, a number of Hollywood studios were pro-American involvement in the war. This movie is one of a number of films made during the late 1930s and early 1940s that represented pro-American intervention in the war. These films include: A Yank in the RAF (1941), Man Hunt (1941), Foreign Correspondent (1940), The Mortal Storm (1940), Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939) and Sergeant York (1941).
This was one of several films mentioned in the September 1941 Senate subcommittee hearings on Propaganda in Motion Pictures, where isolationist senators Nye, Clark and Wheeler attacked Hollywood for warmongering. Senator Nye, who testified before the committee, had not seen most of the films mentioned. The subcommittee did not reconvene again due to the attack on Pearl Harbor in December. The featurette included on the 2009 DVD release contends that the making of warmongering films would be a violation of the Neutrality Act, which focused on restricting arms sales to belligerent nations, regardless of their status as aggressor or defender.
The original novel, Rogue Male, is written in first-person narrative and protagonist's name is never given. Characters such as Jerry, Lord Risborough and Lady Risborough were created for the film.