[4] Swanson ignored advice to shoot the film in Hollywood and opted to rent space in William Randolph Hearst's Cosmopolitan Studios in New York City.

Production began in September 1926 but problems quickly arose due to Swanson's lack of experience as a producer.

[3][5] The production soon ran over budget and was marred by several other problems, mainly the lack of a suitable cameraman to deal with the film's intricate double exposures.

[2] Despite this initial good reception and decent reviews from critics,[7] the film performed poorly at the box office, and barely recouped its budget.

Owing to its failure, producer Joseph M. Schenck convinced Swanson to come back to Hollywood and to film something more commercial.