Trivia

Wallace Beery actually got one less vote than Fredric March in the 1931/1932 Academy Awards voting for best actor, but the rules at the time considered anyone with one or two votes less than the leader as being in a tie. So both got Academy Awards.

Jackie Cooper was paid $1,500 a week while working on the film.

Wallace Beery was none too thrilled to be working with Jackie Cooper, sharing most adult actors' distrust of child stars. Cooper would later accuse the star of trying to upstage him and treating him like "an unkempt dog," behaviour he ascribed to jealousy.

Frances Marion wrote the title role specifically for Wallace Beery.

The film, along with Min and Bill (1930), transformed Wallace Beery from ageing character actor to a verified star.