 Because of the miscegenation aspects of the play (Tondelayo was a  black woman), it was on the Production Code Administraitons  "condemned" list of sources not to be considered. A big outcry was  heard when the British film, based on the same sources, was released  in New York in March, 1930, because it was deemed to violate the  spirit of the Hays decree. RKO hired playright Leon Gordon (qv) to  adapt his play for the screen; he changed Tondelayos parentage to  half Egyptian and half Arab, and it was eventually given an approved  certificate. Still, the movie was placed on the Legion of Decencys  condemned list, and the film was banned in Singapore and Trinidad  because of its racial implications.