Aline MacMahon's motion picture debut.
In September 1928, Warner Bros. Pictures purchased a majority interestin First National Pictures and from that point on, all "First National" productions were actually made under Warner Bros. control, even though the two companies continued to retain separate identities until the mid-1930's, after which time "A Warner Bros.-First National Picture" was often used.
The Evening Gazette is based on the real-life New York Evening Graphic, the most sensational of all the Front Page-era tabloid papers. (Critics called it the Porno-Graphic.) The paper, owned by Bernarr Macfadden, published from 1924 to 1932. At the time this film was made, the Graphic had been losing circulation, because its new editor had been trying to make it a more respectable paper, just like in the film. The paper was best known for its "composographs," composite photographs used to create an otherwise unobtainable illustration.
The play "Five Star Final" by Louis Weitzenkorn opened at the Cort Theatre in New York on 30 December 1930 and closed in June 1931 after 175 performances. The opening night cast included Arthur Byron as Randall, Berton Churchill as Hinchecliffe , Frances Fuller as Jenny Townsend and Allen Jenkins as Ziggie Feinstein.
Vitaphone production reels #4931-4940.