The original trailer for They All Come Out (1939) claimed that it was the first to show the real truth about Alcatraz and other federal prisons. In fact, this started out as a four-reel documentary short on federal prisons. Louis B. Mayer asked shorts director Jacques Tourneur to expand the documentary. Mayer liked what he saw and ordered Tourneur to use the footage to create a feature film of fiction. This became Tourneur's first American feature film.
The psychiatrist (Charles Lane) writes the diagnosis "dementia praecox" in his notes when talking with Groper. That is the antiquated term, since about 1952, of what is now called schizophrenia. Also note that the psychiatrist is wearing the uniform of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.
They All Come Out (1939) was the first feature film for producer Jack Chertok, who had been producing shorts for MGM since 1931, including several in the "Crime Does Not Pay" series, and many Robert Benchley comedy short subjects.
On Joe's prison record, his offense is listed as "Dyer Act." This was a federal law enacted in 1919 that made it a federal crime to transport stolen vehicles, boats, aircraft, etc., across state lines. The punishment is an undetermined fine, imprisonment for up to 10 years, or both.
On screen preceding the title card: "For the first time, scenes actually photographed in our federal prisons. The story is a composite of thousands of cases. It is called..."
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