Loosely based on the case of Edith Maxwell (1914-1979), a 21 year-old schoolteacher in Pound, Virginia. She was convicted of murdering her father in 1935 and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. She was pardoned by Governor James H. Price (D) in 1941 and moved to Indiana under a new name.
Mrs. Elizabeth Hearst, credited as a technical advisor for this film, was a schoolteacher in Kentucky.
According to a contemporary article in Film Daily, Bette Davis was assigned to this picture at one point.
The Bible verses Ruth's father has her read out loud are Isaiah 1:2 and 1:4.
This film has been preserved by the Library of Congress.