This film is often credited as another nail in the coffin of John Gilbert's career, part of Louis Mayer's plot to destroy one of MGM's biggest stars. In truth, this movie, based on a Tolstoy play, is dull and static, a photographed stage play with stagey performances and a lot of editing. Visually, it depends on cuts. There are only a few moving shots, and at least one of them, a pull-in tracking shot, could have been achieved in the editing room. Gilbert's performance is ... adequate, and his voice is a fine, deep baritone.... standard American dialect, a little nasal.
Did Mayer hate Gilbert that much? Mayer's pay was tied to MGM's profits, and he had objected to Gilbert's contract. It was immense, and some of the stories claim that his paycheck was agreed to at the New York office over his objections. It was known early on this movie was a dog. It had sat on the shelves, and Lionel Barrymore had shot some retakes before its release.
In the end, this movie failed, and Gilbert's career declined because his voice, while perfectly good, did not match the expectations of audiences from his silent vehicles, and his box office returns did not comport with his salary. Gilbert was not the only silent star whose career faltered or failed with the coming of sound. Why pay him $250,000 per picture, when a new actor could be hired for a small fraction of that, and not carry the baggage of a star persona which did not match the performance?
Gilbert was not the only person connected with this production whose career was harmed. Cameraman Percy Hilburn left MGM at the end of 1930 and was cinematographer on only one more movie. Director Fred Niblo directed his last movie in 1932. Co-star Rene Adoree made one more movie and was gone. Eleanor Boardman's movie career ended effectively in 1931. By the end of the year, Claire McDowell was appearing in uncredited bits. Everyone knows the story about Gilbert, but Hollywood was suffering financial ruin, and by 1936, MGM was the only major studio that was not in some form of receivership. If I had been Louis B. Mayer, looking at the returns on MGM's movies, I would have hated Gilbert too.
