Referring to the picture as Kings in Exile, the 22 September 1924 Film Daily announced that the movie would be Swedish director Victor Seastrom’s next feature for Metro-Goldwyn Pictures Corp. The title was the English translation of the picture’s literary source, Les rois en exil; roman parisien, by French novelist Alphonse Daudet, which was published in 1879. Seastrom, who had been contracted by Samuel Goldwyn before the mogul’s company merger with Metro, signed on for three additional pictures for Goldwyn including Kings in Exile, as of 21 October 1924, as reported in that day’s Film Daily. Actress Alice Terry had already been hired to perform the starring role as “The Queen” and shooting was scheduled to begin in six weeks.
       On 28 November 1924, Film Daily noted that filming had already begun on the movie, which was still titled Kings in Exile, and the following day’s Exhibitors Herald announced the casting of David Powell in a starring role. The film was set to be Powell’s first West Coast production in three years, as stated in the 30 Nov 1924 Film Daily, but he became too ill with pneumonia to remain with the project and the 10 December 1924 Variety, which noted that production was well underway in Hollywood, listed Lewis Stone in his place. Three days later, Moving Picture World explained that Kings in Exile marked the first time Terry and Stone had been paired together in a movie since Rex Ingram’s screen success Scaramouche (1923, see entry); they had also co-starred in The Prisoner of Zenda (1922, see entry). David Powell died on 16 April 1925 from pneumonia.
       On 23 December 1924, Film Daily announced that the title had been changed to Confessions of a Queen and by 4 January 1925 John Bowers had finished his contributions to the production and had returned to New York, as reported in that day’s [Baltimore, MD] Baltimore Sun. Later that month, the 31 January 1925 Exhibitors Trade Review noted that the studio, now referred to as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer since its merger in Spring 1924, had its associate executive, Irving G. Thalberg, overseeing five productions including Confessions of a Queen. Production was still underway in early February 1925, as the 7 February 1925 Exhibitors Herald stated that 2,000 background actors were used in a scene shot that week. Filming ended sometime in February, as the 7 March 1925 Exhibitors Herald listed Confessions of a Queen in its “Index to the Product Announcements,” and the film was booked at Brooklyn’s Capitol theatre the week of 22 March 1925, according to a [Brooklyn, NY] Times Union article published that day. The film was given a general release date of 30 March 1925 in the 18 April 1925 Exhibitors Trade Review, and it was reviewed in the 24 March 1925 [New York, NY] Daily News, the 1 April 1925 Variety, and the 4 April 1925 Exhibitors Trade Review, which stated: “Here’s a good program attraction with an appealing title. In the hands of a good cast, the picture is also well directed. Of course, much of Daudet’s original novel is eliminated, chiefly, perhaps, because of the screen’s limitations. But the plot is interesting, has a humorous angle, and despite its unpopular ending, will please the average audience. With Alice Terry and Lewis Stone in the cast the production has pulling power. Most of the fans, and particularly women, should follow this with liberal patronage.” It advised theaters to: “Feature Alice Terry and Lewis Stone in your exploitation. Show stills of the drunken, good natured king, who’d rather be one of the people than a royal monarch. Interest women by urging them to come and hear the “confessions” which wrecked a throne and brought about a revolution. But feature the comedy of the play. It is more appealing than its plot.”
       Later that year, Agnes Christine Johnston, a prolific scenarist who wrote the adaptation for Confessions of a Queen, received a “long term contact” with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, as announced in the 24 October 1925 Moving Picture World. At the time of the release of Confessions of a Queen, Johnston had already written seventeen features, and she remained active through the 1940s, writing various films including several installments in Mickey Rooney’s “Andy Hardy” series.
       According to the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) Treasures from the Film Archives database, this film is extant.