 Edward G. Robinson (qv) was almost totally deaf when he made this  movie, and only able to hear anyone if they spoke directly into his  ear. Because of this, scenes with him talking to other people had to  be shot several times before he got the rhythm of the dialogue and  was able to respond to people as if he could really hear them. And  because he was unable to hear director Richard Fleischer (qv) yell  "cut" when a scene went wrong, Robinson would often continue acting  out the scene, unaware that shooting had stopped seconds earlier.