[1] It was based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1925 Broadway play of the same name by George Kelly (the uncle of Grace Kelly),[2] and directed by Dorothy Arzner.

Former MGM star William Haines was the film's production designer.

Previously filmed in 1928, Craig's Wife was remade in 1950 as Harriet Craig, rewritten (and updated) as a vehicle for Joan Crawford and co-starring Wendell Corey.

Harriet values material things more than her husband and goes to great lengths to protect her life as she has created it, regardless of what the outcomes are to those around her.

The story's message is stated by Mr. Craig's aunt, Ellen Austen, who says, "Those who live for themselves, are left to themselves," as one by one, all her disgusted family and servants abandon her, leaving her entirely on her own.