It is set in the international city of Tangier, Morocco and was one of the last Universal Pictures films before the studio's reorganization as Universal-International in July 1946.

[1] The film features a variety of well-known Universal players completing their contracts, such as Montez, Paige and Louise Allbritton.

[2] In Tangier, disgraced American war correspondent Paul Kenyon, café dancer Rita and local entrepreneur Pepe join forces to battle Adolpho Fernandez, a Nazi diamond smuggler.

In September 1943, Universal announced the upcoming Flame of Stamboul, from a script by Alice Miller, to star Montez, Hall and Turhan Bey (in a role intended for Sabu, who was serving with the military).

As Bey and Hall were serving with the armed forces, their roles were played by Sabu and Robert Paige, respectively.

In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic A. H. Weiler wrote: "Miss Montez' array of clothes is far more impressive than the picture's plot and the people involved in it.