The adaptation was by Gene Markey, the cinematography by William H. Daniels, the art direction by Cedric Gibbons and the costume design by Adrian.

The film stars Greta Garbo and Melvyn Douglas, with Erich von Stroheim, Owen Moore and Hedda Hopper.

[2] Budapest bar entertainer Zara is a discontented alcoholic who is pursued by many men but lives with novelist Carl Salter.

A strange man (Tony) shows up on Salter's estate claiming that Zara is actually Maria, the wife of his close friend Bruno.

Maria, Tony claims, had her memory destroyed during a World War I invasion ten years ago.