Fuller met Detective Dan Campion of the New York Police Department to research the background material of his story to add realism, with Fuller basing the role of Tiger the police detective on Campion who had been suspended without salary for six months for manhandling a suspect.
Fuller rifiutò diverse proposte degli studios per il ruolo femminile principale: Marilyn Monroe, Shelley Winters, Ava Gardner e Betty Grable, che voleva veder inserito per sé un numero di ballo nel film.