This film was preserved by the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York after having initially been thought as lost until a copy was discovered in the 1970s. It was subsequently fully restored by The Film Foundation, established by director Martin Scorsese and others in 1990.
A rare screening of Benjamin Christensen's Mockery (1927) offers a wonderful opportunity to see a Lon Chaney performance less reliant upon a frightening visage: Sergei, an uneducated Siberian peasant. Of the patently unappealing characterization of Sergei, Photoplay magazine wittily observed, "The star is the only film luminary who can play dumb gents minus sex appeal and ring the gong at the box office."
In keeping with his usual system of working, Lon Chaney had his favorite violinist and keyboardist -Jack Feinberg and Sam Feinberg -provide mood music on the set, during the filming of the more emotional scenes.
The single medal Capt. Dimitri wears is the Order of St. George, 4th Class. It was Imperial Russia's highest exclusively military order.