The opening narrator says, "The Teapot Dome Scandal was going to be a church club misunderstanding compared to this." The Teapot Dome Scandal (1921-1923) was a bribery scandal involving the administration of US President Warren G. Harding. Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall had leased Navy petroleum reserves at Teapot Dome in Wyoming and California to private oil companies at low rates without competitive bidding. Before the Watergate scandal (1972-1974), Teapot Dome was regarded as the "greatest and most sensational scandal in the history of American politics."
Cy Endfield made this film in 8 days with an initial budget of $125,000, but he brought it in for $12,000 under that amount, according to the AFI Catalog entry for this picture.
The scene with the desperate hero, an evil villain, and an ominous flame might have inspired a more modern take in the James Bond film Goldfinger (1964).
The cast includes three actors who later starred in successful TV series: Marjorie Lord (The Danny Thomas Show (1953)); Barbara Billingsley (Leave It to Beaver (1957)); and John Banner (Hogan's Heroes (1965)).
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