The story for the film was inspired by real events from Japanese tabloids writing things about celebrities; specifically a famous actress. Akira Kurosawa wrote about the nameless actress in his autobiography, saying "I reacted as if the thing had been said about me" describing the tabloid as using a "weapon of publicity" against someone.
The character Hiruta was, as director Akira Kurosawa later recollected, based on a man he met in a bar in the early 1940s who had very similar characteristics and personal issues.
Both Japanese titles appear on the title screen. Sukyandaru is simply a transliteration of the English word "Scandal," similar to Amour magazine in the film being a transliteration of the French word, (Amûru being the equivalent of the katakana).
In the version found at the Internet Archive website, Eitarô Ozawa is listed as "Sakae Ozawa" in the cast subtitles.