The screenplay was adapted by John Michael Hayes and Charles Schnee from O'Hara's 1935 novel, which in turn was based on the mysterious death of Starr Faithfull in Long Beach, Nassau County, New York, in 1931.
The screenplay was adapted by John Michael Hayes and Charles Schnee from the 1935 novel, but the plot of the film bears only a superficial resemblance to the novel. O'Hara based parts on the mysterious death of Starr Faithfull in Long Beach, Nassau County, New York, in 1931.