Magnus Hirschfeld, a prominent sexologist, co-wrote the screenplay and made a cameo appearance as The Doctor, with whom Paul Korner consults. A scene resembling that of the modern-day LGBT scene existed in Weimar Germany, albeit underground, and the scene at the gay bar featured actual LGBT individuals. The screenwriter and author Anita Loos said of this period, in 1923: "Any Berlin lady of the night might turn out to be a man: the prettiest girl on the street was Conrad Veidt, who later became an international film star." (It was Hirschfeld who coined the term 'transvestism.')
The film was received surprisingly well by the public at the time of its release, and was shown in cinemas for almost a year.
Only one print, a fragmented copy, survives. Other prints were destroyed by German censorship in 1920 but restored versions of the film exist and are available online and on DVD.