The close-up of Alfred Butler's hands as he opens the box with the wedding ring inside was shot with a hand double, since Buster Keaton was missing the tip of his right index finger.
Of all the great dramatic films in history, it was this film that was one of Martin Scorsese's biggest inspirations in getting the "feel" of the boxing scenes in Raging Bull (1980) just right, particularly (and most likely) from Buster Keaton's surprisingly realistic, climactic fight. As quoted in the book "Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull" edited by Kevin J. Hayes (Cambridge University Press, 2005), Scorsese called Keaton "the only person who had the right attitude about boxing in the movies" for him.
Released in the same year as what is considered to be Buster Keaton's finest film: The General (1926). Ironically, while this film attracted less than glowing notices, it became Keaton's second biggest hit, while "The General"was a monumental flop.
A rare example of a Buster Keaton movie being based on a stage play. The original ran for 313 performances on Broadway, opening at the Selwyn Theatre, 227 W. 42nd St. on October 8, 1923 and moving to the Times Square Theatre on April 21, 1924 with Charles Ruggles playing the lead.
At the start of "Battling Butler," the exterior of the parental Butler home was filmed at the Talmadge Apartments, 3278 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles. In a way, the location is a Keaton family home. The apartment building was opened in 1924; an anniversary gift from movie producer Joseph Schenck, who was Keaton's boss at the time, to Schenck's wife Norma Talmadge. In 1921 Keaton had married Natalie Talmadge, Norma's sister and Schenck's sister-in-law. In the film, the words "The Talmadge" had either not yet been etched onto the cement above the building's front entrance or were covered for the shot.