 According to an article in the original "Famous Monsters of  Filmland" magazines, production was actually started in 1926. There  were various problems, including weather and the advent of talkies,  which slowed/halted production several times before the film was  finally completed and released three years later. The article  included stills showing the original 1926 undersea denizens and the  redesigned version which actually appeared in the film.