It was shot at the Babelsberg Studios in Potsdam and on location in Southern Hungary. Premiering at the Ufa-Palast am Zoo, it was one of the most popular German films released that year.[2] In 1929, a sound version was prepared by Paramount Pictures due to the public's apathy to silent films. While the sound version has no audible dialog, it features a synchronized musical score with sound effects using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film process. Since the sound version was more widely seen, UFA producer Erich Pommer describe this film as his first "sound film", rather than Melody of the Heart.[3]