According to Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne, the reason this film was (almost) lost was that Rafael Sabatini, the author of the book, didn't sell the movie rights to MGM outright. Instead, he leased them for 10 years, and in 1936 MGM chose not to renew the lease because it decided that a silent film with a now-dead star no longer had commercial value. So, according to the terms of Sabatini's contract, MGM destroyed the negative and all known prints.
Long thought lost, a print of this film was discovered in a private collection and restored for a DVD release. It was missing its third reel, but scenes from the trailer and production stills were edited in via a continuity script.