The film lost $375,000 at the box office.
It was widely suspected that Joan Fontaine's singing voice was dubbed, but RKO refused to even address the rumors and no studio records exist to substantiate the accusation.
The operatic duo of Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy were among the most popular screen teams of the 1930s, whose films made a fortune for M-G-M. RKO had the most popular dance duo of the era, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, under contract, but wanted to establish an opera star of their own. In pursuit of that goal, they found tenor Nino Martini, and built this film around him. Unfortunately, their opera singer was no Nelson Eddy, and this film ended up losing the studio nearly $400,000.
The rare five-cent apple vending machine seen in the studio is a "Apple Vendor Co.", made by the New Way Life Manufacturing Company of Seattle, Washington in 1929. In 2022, a restored example in working condition could be worth thousands of dollars.