The film is advertised under the title "Peter Ibbetson" for many weeks at the Criterion
Theatre in New York City in its initial run. (New York Tribune, 20 November 1921)
"George Fitzmaurice's production, 'Forever,' is now being presented in New York at the Criterion Theatre under its original title, 'Peter Ibbetson.' " (Moving Picture World, November 26, 1921)
Mrs. Wallace Reid, the married name of the director and writer Dorothy Davenport, kept a copy of Forever because it was her husband's favorite of all his movies. Before her death in 1977, she donated it to an organization planning a museum, which promised to preserve the film. But the museum was never built, and the print of Forever was lost.
The film was based on the 1891 novel Peter Ibbetson by George du Maurier and a play adaptation by John N. Raphael. The plat debuted on Broadway in 1917 starring John Barrymore in the title role, Lionel Barrymore, and Constance Collier. In 1920, Basil Rathbone played the title role in London. In 1935, Gary Cooper took on the title role in a film version.