 Sensing a huge hit from industry buzz, MGM offered to buy the film  outright from RKO for $1.072m (some $400,000 over its negative  cost), figuring the little studio was reeling from losing $10+m in  1932. RKO was smart to decline the offer. The film smashed  attendance records nationwide and ended up grossing $1.761m during  its initial release. RKO would periodically, and extremely  profitably, re