Bowing to Nazi pressure, and "to cultivate the good will of Germany," Universal boss Charles R. Rogers took James Whale off the picture and ordered 21 cuts made to it.
Fearful that this film would not do well overseas, the new regime at Universal Pictures severely edited the film before release, removing much of the strongly anti-Nazi slant that author Erich Maria Remarque included in the original novel, and which director James Whale intended to retain in the film version.
Some publicity material erroneously states that Greta Gynt is in this film.
Stuntman George Daly was killed in an accidental explosion while filming a stunt for this picture.