The film was banned outright in Chicago, Guatemala, Spain, Peru, Venezuela, Trinidad and other countries. Many other locales required cuts in police brutality, Mike's murder and the mine explosions. The Hays office was concerned about Joe's criminal behavior in setting off the mine explosions not being punished, but eventually issued a certificate of approval.
Mike's murder was based on an actual strike case in which a miner by the name of John Barkoski (spelling of his last name varies by source) was killed by three company policemen employed by the Pittsburgh Coal Company in 1929.
Though it received no official Oscar nominations, the Academy permitted write-in candidates this year and when the voting order was announced it turned out that Paul Muni had come in second in the balloting, narrowly behind winner Victor McLaglen but ahead of any of the other nominated actors.
Michael A. Musmanno's story, "Jan Volkanik", may have been unpublished when this film was released, but it was published as a novel in 1966 with the title "Black Fury". Harry R. Irving's play, "Bohunk" was unproduced and possibly unpublished.
Production title "Black Hell".