Howard Hawks made an uncredited contribution to the screenplay.
1000 extras were used in the making of the movie
China initially banned the movie, demanding its withdrawal from worldwide circulation. The ban was lifted when Paramount pledged not to make another film involving Chinese politics.
In her autobiography, Marlene Dietrich claimed that von Sternberg directed most of the cinematography, instead of Lee Garmes (who actually won an Oscar for his work on the film).
It was von Sternberg's intention that the style of the film should reflect the rhythm of a train journey. This explains the film's tight pace and the rather staccato quality of the dialog.
One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.
The extras in the film are all speaking Cantonese, a Chinese dialect focused mainly in southern China. If the film were to be more true to life, the extras would be speaking Mandarin, a more spoken dialect. However, most Chinese residents in the Los Angeles area spoke Cantonese, making von Sternberg use Cantonese.
The Hays Office expressed concern about the unlikable character of the minister, which prompted a revision of the script. Other concerns included the remark by Chang that he was not proud of his white blood, but that line remains in the print.
This was the highest grossing film of 1932 in USA and Canada.