 The role of 'Cigarette' was originally filmed with Simone Simon, but when Zanuck was not impressed with her footage, he refilmed it with Claudette Colbert.The film was shot on location in California in Imperial County, Indio, La Quinta and Palm Springs (Palm Canyon), and in Yuma, Arizona.Writing for "The Spectator" in 1936, Graham Greene gave the film a good review, specifically praising the film's climax (when a disguised Victor meets Sidi-Ben-Youssiff) as "superb".