Actor John Gilbert's career was waning by the time he was hired by 'poverty row' studio Columbia for this picture. Gilbert's lucrative contract option had been dropped by the larger and richer MGM studios because his voice had tested higher than suited his masculine screen image. With his career in shambles, Gilbert had begun to drink heavily, but thanks mainly to the support of his friend Lewis Milestone, Gilbert was hired by Columbia for this picture...with the sole condition that he remain sober throughout the production. Unfortunately, Gilbert by this time was an alcoholic unable to stay away from drinking for very long, particularly among such heavy-drinking cast members as Walter Catlett and Victor McLaglen. Keeping the cast sober proved impossible, even while filming at sea. In a rage at the mounting expenditures, Columbia president Harry Cohn telegraphed director Milestone, 'Return to studio. The cost is staggering.' Milestone wired back, 'So is the cast!'
Director Lewis Milestone needed to persuade Columbia Pictures president Harry Cohn to hire actor John Gilbert for this picture. At the time it was generally believed that Gilbert's voice recorded higher in pitch than suited his masculine silent screen image, but Milestone believed that Gilbert's voice recorded higher in pitch because of the actor's anxiety at having to test for MGM as a means of defending his exorbitant salary there. Gilbert agreed to submit to a new voice-test for the role as a means of persuading Cohn that his casting in the picture was a viable investment. With his friend Milestone directing the test for the Columbia picture his voice recorded perfectly and John Gilbert was hired for the role.
John Gilbert's final screen appearance.