The film was a huge financial success. It cost $436,000 ($8.5 million in 2021 dollars) to produce but grossed $1,035,000 ($20.2 million in 2021 dollars).
It was surprising that the Production Code passed this film as a major motion picture, given its subject matter involving adultery and unwed motherhood. It has been said that director Archie Mayo helped by being able to let viewers know, in a subtle manner, that the main characters were actually nice people who wound up in "a serious mess."
Kay Francis and director Archie Mayo often didn't get along. She thought that Mayo didn't have a grasp of the subject matter, and Mayo would often tell her she couldn't act.
Bette Davis, Claudette Colbert, and Ann Harding were also considered for the lead role.
Tubbs says he can't follow Jim's explanation of the alphabet soup of income tax forms, and he wonders why the Supreme Court didn't do something about that when they abolished the NRA. In May 1935, the Supreme Court ruled that part of the NRA (National Recovery Act) called NIRA (National Industrial Recovery Act) was unconstitutional because the legislative branch had delegated its authority to the executive branch which violated separation of powers. NIRA was part of President Roosevelt's New Deal legislation to end the Depression.
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