[1][2] Based upon the piece of short fiction "A Friend of Napoleon" which was published in the June 30, 1923, issue of The Saturday Evening Post magazine by popular writer Richard Connell (whose best known work, The Most Dangerous Game, was filmed three years later), it was directed by Berthold Viertel and stars Paul Muni in his second screen appearance.
However, a missing letter and confusion in communication causes Georges to arrive at the mistaken conclusion that Helene has redirected her affections towards a foolish young man (Walter Rogers), who is unworthy of her and excessively preoccupied with his stylish personal appearance and elegant clothing.
At his trial, the judge is Helene's father, while the defense attorney is Georges, the young romantic, who delivers an impassioned summation vividly describing how the defendant was overcome by patriotic fervor over Napoleon's victories and his contributions to the glory and grandeur of his beloved France.
[16] At that point, as he straightens Napoleon's pockets, Papa Chibou discovers the overlooked letter which explains and resolves Georges' and Helene's misunderstanding, thus allowing the young lovers an opportunity to declare their true feelings, with her father's blessing.
[16] Additionally, while the poster was already intended, even in the film's pre-production stage, to highlight, in fonts smaller than those reserved for Muni's billing, the name of second-billed ingenue Marguerite Churchill, the listing for her male counterpart, playing young lawyer Georges, is indicated beneath her name as Owen Davis, Jr., thus pointing out the fact that subsequent unspecified casting revisions led to the 22-year-old actor's replacement with another 22-year-old, Russell Gleason.