The script is notable for reworking many themes from Cagney's previous films with Warner. Most notably, in "The Public Enemy", Cagney smashed a grapefruit into Mae Clarke's face; in "White Heat" he kicks Virginia Mayo off a chair. In "Each Dawn I Die", his character suffers the ill effects of prison; while here, his character has a breakdown in the prison mess hall. Furthermore, in "The Roaring Twenties" Cagney fought with rival gangsters in a similar fashion to how Cody Jarrett stalks the double-crossing "Big Ed" Somers (portrayed by Steve Cochran).