Film has some rather blatant and oddball plugs for Warner Brothers stars. In several scenes photos of Joe E. Brown (whom Lillian Roth sings to) and Dick Powell are seen in the women's cells.
Based on the play "Women in Prison" by Dorothy Mackaye of her own experiences while serving a sentence for concealing and distorting facts regarding the manslaughter trial of Paul Kelly. Kelly, who was having an affair with Mackaye, and Ray Raymond, Mackaye's then-husband, got into a violent, alcohol-induced fight on April 16, 1927. Raymond was seriously beaten about the head, lingered for two days, but succumbed to a brain hemorrhage. Kelly was found guilty of manslaughter and served a little over two years. Mackaye had tried to convince police that Raymond had died of "natural causes". She was released after 10 months.
San Quentin housed both male and female inmates until 1933, when the women's prison at Tehachapi was built.
The play had a production in Los Angeles, California, USA, with co-author Dorothy Mackaye in the lead.