Red Dice, based on Octavus Roy Cohen’s 1925 novel, The Iron Chalice, was announced in the 1 August 1925 Exhbitors Herald as Rod La Rocque’s next starring vehicle. E. Richard Schayer and Garret Fort were initially hired to adapt the script, and Paul Sloane was attached direct. An item in the 30 September 1925 Variety noted that, due to scheduling conflicts at producer Cecil B. De Mille’s company, Sloane had been replaced by Alan Hale. Jeanie Macpherson, a screenwriter and frequent collaborator of De Mille’s, was brought on to supervise the production and write continuity, as reported in the 7 October 1925 Variety. Macpherson was ultimately credited with the script adaptation, along with Douglas Doty. In mid-November 1925, William K. Howard was hired on as director. An article in the 18 November 1925 Variety stated that Howard had recently left Famous Players-Lasky Corp. after shake-ups at the company. Howard had refused a three-month layoff offered by Famous Players-Lasky, and instead asked to be released to De Mille Pictures Corp.
       Principal photography was scheduled to begin on 30 November 1925, according to the 12 December 1925 Exhibitors Herald. Filming, which took place at De Mille Studios in Culver City, CA, was completed by late January 1926. The 28 January 1926 Film Daily noted that Howard and Macpherson were overseeing editing and cutting of the picture, which was released on 14 March 1926. Despite its “gruesome” theme, as described in the 14 April 1926 Variety review, Red Dice received generally positive reviews.
       Octavus Roy Cohen's novel was also the basis of the 1931 RKO film The Big Gamble, directed by Fred Niblo and starring Bill Boyd and James Gleason (see entry).
       The National Film Preservation Board (NFPB) included the picture on its list of Lost U.S. Silent Feature Films as of February 2021.