John Gilbert wanted to do this movie so badly he sold the story to MGM for $1.00. Ads for the movie proclaimed "starring Mr. and Mrs. John Gilbert" since he and Virginia Bruce were married shortly after the production completed filming.
The original ending had John Gilbert's character drown in a wine vat. After this tested badly, MGM tacked on a new ending.
Superstar John Gilbert had written the story for this film and tried to get it made as a silent movie at MGM in 1927, but Irving Thalberg was still trying to maintain Gilbert's image as a "great lover," so the film didn't get made until 1932.
Contemporary trade papers talk about the solid box-office results for this film, yet MGM's official bookkeeping reports state the film lost $250,000. Creative bookkeeping allowed the studios to keep their stars in line by reporting losses when they actually made profits.
The $6,500 of life savings that Karl takes from Sophie would be equal to over $111,000 in 2020.