Filmed in 1929 and completed and copyrighted (7 September 1929) before Disraeli (1929), but was held out of release until later at the request of George Arliss because he felt the other film was a better vehicle for his talkie debut.
Originally released with sound on disc, sound on film was added at a later date, resulting in the left side of the image in surviving prints noticeably cropped in order to provide space on which to accommodate the soundtrack.
The Raja (George Arliss) plays a recording of "Funeral March of a Marionette" on a phonograph for his British visitors, and remarks on the macabre quality of the piece. Most will recognize it as the theme of TV's Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955).
Footage of the airplane in flight appears edited into short clips to avoid showing obvious roads on the ground.
Green Goddess salad dressing is named for its tint. The most accepted theory regarding its origins points to the Palace Hotel in San Francisco in 1923, when the hotel's executive chef Philip Roemer wanted something to pay tribute to George Arliss and his hit play, "The Green Goddess". He concocted this dressing, which, like the play, became a hit. It contained anchovies, scallions, parsley, tarragon, mayonnaise, tarragon vinegar and chives, and is a variation of a dressing originated in France by a chef to Louis XIII who made a sauce au vert (green sauce) which was traditionally served with "green eel".