Charles Vidor started directing this movie but was fired after a few days of shooting and replaced by Charles Brabin. Filmed August 6-October 21 1932, after "The Old Dark House" and before "The Mummy."
As originally scripted, during the torture sequence, it was planned to have Von Berg (Jean Hersholt) suspended over the crocodile pit and Neyland Smith (Lewis Stone) about to be impaled by the walls of spikes. This was reversed when, for reasons unknown, it was thought that a fat captive would make more sense being impaled than a thin one.
It took Boris Karloff 2.5 hours every morning to apply makeup for this role.
MGM once considered Clark Gable for the part later played by Charles Starrett.
This was the only time that Myrna Loy worked with Boris Karloff; she had already worked with Bela Lugosi in 1930's "Renegades," and would conquer her 'femme fatale' typecasting by 1934's "The Thin Man".