The picture was based on 1918 the musical play, Getting Together by J. Hartley Manners, Major Ian Hay Beith, and Percival Knight, and produced under the auspices of the British-Canadian Recruiting Mission. According to the 6 Jul 1918 Moving Picture World, the play’s producers believed that a film version would reach a wider audience. They offered the property to Vitagraph Co. of America founder J. Stuart Blackton, who had recently started his own production company. The Mission also supplied Blackton with war footage, military personnel, and “locations and effects rarely available to the film producer.”
       Seven weeks later, an advertisement in the 31 Aug 1918 Exhibitors Herald and Motography announced the upcoming picture by its release title, The Common Cause. Described as “an entirely different war story with ‘a laugh, a thrill and a sob,’” the production was intended to increase recruitment for the war effort and build comradery among England’s allies. Interior scenes were filmed at Vitagraph’s Brooklyn, NY, studios while exteriors were shot at “Vitagraph Village.” The producer was referred to as “Commodore Blackton,” although it was not specified whether the title was official or honorary. Featured among the cast were members of the American, French, and British military, as well as Blackton’s son and daughter, Charles Stuart and Violet. The 28 Sep 1918 Moving Picture World noted that Colonel J. S. Dennis of the British-Canadian Recruiting Mission, along with several other British and American officers, visited the studio during production. Sets included an elegant ballroom and a French Village. Principal photography was completed the following month, as stated in the 19 Oct 1918 Motion Picture News. The epic production inspired Blackton to dedicate his company exclusively to “special” productions.
       An article in the 16 Nov 1918 Motion Picture News attributed the film’s musical score to Manuel Klein, former conductor at the Hippodrome Theatre in New York City. Klein debuted his composition during a screening at Vitagraph’s home office, also located in New York City at 1600 Broadway.
       The Common Cause opened on 5 Jan 1919, nearly two months after the war ended.