The film was set to be released under the title of "The Law and Martin Rome", when a lawyer from Baltimore, Maryland named Morton E. Rome contacted the studio threatening to sue, saying the film would damage his career and expose him to ridicule. Exhibitors were also objecting to the title, so to please them and avoid the suit the title was changed just before the film's release.
The theme music over the opening and closing credits by Alfred Newman, named "Street Scene" is the same as that played in the earlier Henry Hathaway movie, The Dark Corner (1946), and many others since it was originally written for Street Scene (1931).
Originally, Victor Mature was cast as the killer and Richard Conte as the cop. Since Mature had recently played some villains in movies like Kiss of Death (1947), the roles were switched.