The only film the cast and crew of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988) refused to satirize after watching. During an interview, host Michael J. Nelson revealed that the crew considered the film "disturbing." In a separate interview with Frank Conniff, who selected films for the show, he cited it as the worst film he had watched as a potential selection for the show.
A problem cropped up when planning the infamous "skinny dipping" scene. Shirley Mills had no problem stripping naked for it, even with the large male crew watching, but she did not know how to swim. The crew found a local girl, Bernice Stobaugh, willing to swim naked to double for Mills in the long shots. It is Stobaugh who does the dive into the pond and does the graceful swimming in the long shots. In the closer shots, Mills is seen doing the dog paddle.
Although it was released in 1938, Shirley Mills did not see the complete film until the 1980s when a relative gave her a videocassette of it.
The film had been submitted to the Production Code Administration for a certificate of approval, but was denied because of its subject matter, which was said to be "a sexually abhorrent abnormality which violates all moral principles," and because of the onscreen child nudity. The censors also objected to the murderer never being punished for his deeds.