The scenario was based on the 1876 novel, Anna Karénina by Leo Tolstoy. Plans for a screen version from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp. (M-G-M) were announced by the 13 November 1926 Moving Picture World. Russian expatriate Dimitri Buchowestzki was heralded as the ideal director for the project. He had recently been contracted by M-G-M following his first assignment for the studio, Valencia (1926, see entry). That same day, Motion Picture News reported that Lillian Gish had been cast in the title role. An advertisement in the 29 December 1926 Variety later noted that screenwriter Lorna Moon was in the process of adapting the novel, and that Greta Garbo had replaced Lillian Gish.
       One month later, the 29 January 1927 Exhibitors Herald implied that the production was in limbo and recommended either Irene Rich or Florence Vidor for the title character. Eleanor Boardman was also suggested, although she was considered too young for the part.
       As stated in the 18 February 1927 Motion Picture News, Victor Varconi was initially chosen for the role of “Vronsky.” Two months later, the 17 April 1927 Film Daily reported that Ricardo Cortez had assumed the male lead, with Lionel Barrymore, Zasu Pitts, Helene Chadwick, Dorothy Sebastian, Mario Carillo, Albert Conti, and Maude Turner Gordon as additional cast members, none of whom appeared in the completed picture. On 24 June 1927, Film Daily announced that John Gilbert had replaced Cortez, Edmund Goulding had replaced Buchowestzki, and the title, Love, had replaced Anna Karenina.
       The film was released in December 1927, preceded by an opening at the Embassy Theatre in New York City during the week of 27 November 1927. An advertisement in the 9 December 1927 Film Daily claimed that it was drawing the largest audiences of any picture on Broadway, even with tickets prices as high as two dollars. The 21 December 1927 Film Daily advertised live “Telemovies” of the Embassy engagement, broadcast over twenty-five radio stations across the U.S.
       A review in the 18 December 1927 edition noted that the film, unlike the novel, was given a happy ending. Various sources have suggested that some prints included Tolstoy’s original ending.
       Greta Garbo reprised her lead role for the 1935 production, Anna Karénina (see entry).
       According to the Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database, this film is extant.