Trivia

The poet whose works are quoted during the film is Walt Whitman.

The large ocean liner being moved by tugboats is the RMS Aquitania. Its maiden voyage began on 30 May 1914. Soon after it was converted to a troop transport for WWI. It returned to trans-Atlantic service in 1920. When WWII broke out she was again converted to a troop transport. After the war she never returned to normal passenger service, but was used for returning troops to Canada and transporting migrants and war brides to that country. She was retired in 1949 and scrapped in 1950.

Selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 1995. Digitally restored after four years of work in 2009, using the only known 35mm print to exist, which was heavily damaged by neglect and improper storage. The original negative is presumed lost.