 The film originally went into production in 1931, with  Lotte Lenya (qv) as Maria the prostitute, the role eventually  played by Vera Yanukova (qv). Sets were constructed and the cast  arrived at the Yalta location, but due to financial difficulties and  supply interruptions (for instance, the typing paper intended for  the scripts was used by the crew as rolling paper for their  cigarettes), the production was disbanded with no footage shot.