It was directed by Jacques Feyder and produced by Alexander Korda from a screenplay by Lajos Bíró adapted by Frances Marion from the 1933 novel by James Hilton.

Englishman A. J. Fothergill is recruited by Colonel Forrester to spy on Russia for the British government because he can speak the language fluently.

When the attempt fails, the would-be assassin is shot, but manages to reach Peter's apartment, where he dies.

World War I makes Alexandra a widow and brings the Bolsheviks to power, freeing Peter and Axelstein.

When the Russian Civil War breaks out, Alexandra is arrested for being an aristocrat, and Peter is assigned by now-Commissar Axelstein to take her to Petrograd to stand trial.

At the station, a Red Cross doctor, a Scot who believes his story, dresses his wounded arm while a nurse reads aloud the passenger list of the train departing for Bucharest.

According to Robert Osborne of Turner Classic Movies, Donat suffered a severe, week-long bout of his chronic asthma during production, causing Alexander Korda to consider replacing him.

He described the production as "a perfect fusion of several remarkable talents, so serene a blend that we cannot be sure which division is entitled to the most credit...

[5] Nugent singled out "relative newcomer" John Clements's "moving and poignant" portrayal of Poushkoff, predicting that "we shall probably hear more of him".

Greene described the film as "melodrama of the most engaging kind, the heroic wish-fulfillment dream of adolescence all the world over".

[7] The Variety review was somewhat unfavourable: "A labored effort to keep this picture neutral on the subject of the Russian Revolution finally completely overshadows the simple love story intertwining Marlene Dietrich and Robert Donat.

[9] Korda's usual extravagance resulted in a budget of $350,000, much of it spent on authentic sets and costumes, and the film did not make a profit.