Charlie Chaplin's first film for United Artists turned out not to be the comedy everyone expected but a lavishly-produced morality drama set in France. On top of that, Chaplin directed but did not act, apart from a tiny cameo appearance as a porter. The film, with its simple human values and epic-style romantic-weepie story, did make a big star of Adolphe Menjou, previously best known as a villain, but now able to become the screen's suavest sophisticate.