On 23 Feb 1923, FD reported that actress Mary Pickford had “abandoned” work on a film based on the Faust legend to instead take on leading roles in Rosita and Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall (1924, see entry). German director Ernst Lubitsch would direct Rosita, marking his American feature film debut. News items in the 31 Mar 1923 Motion Picture News and 30 Mar 1923 FD anticipated that the production would be the “most expensive of [Pickford’s] career,” with castle sets more grand than those built for Robin Hood (1922, see entry), and a replica of the city of Toledo, Spain, constructed on a rooftop at the Pickford-Fairbanks studios in Los Angeles, CA.
       Principal photography began in mid-Mar 1923, according to a 13 Mar 1923 FD brief. Although Motion Picture News listed actress Clare Eames among the cast, a later article in the 2 Jun 1923 Moving Picture World did not include her as one of the “all-star” players. Instead, the trade journal indicated that Irene Rich, whose involvement in Rosita had not previously been mentioned, would play the role of “The Queen” [of Spain]. Eames, it should be noted, had been cast as “Queen Elizabeth” in Pickford’s other project, Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall.
       Production on Rosita was still underway when a 1 May 1923 FD news brief noted that the film might be released under the title, The Street Singer. Various contemporary sources adopted this new title in their reports on the film, but ultimately, filmmakers reverted back to Rosita, scheduling it for a 3 Sep 1923 release at the Lyric theater in New York City. “Top” tickets would cost $1.65, according to a 30 Aug 1923 FD item. The picture received positive reviews, and critics praised Lubitsch’s contribution as a director, in particular. The 9 Sep 1923 FD declared, “It will pay every American director to go and see [Lubitsch’s] work” in Rosita.
       The Jul 1923 AmCin reported that Paul Perry worked as a cameraman on part of the picture.
       Voted one of the “Top Best Features” of 1923 by the 1929 Film Daily Year Book, as reported in the Feb 7, 1930 FD.
       A reconstructed and restored print of Rosita, minus a lost ten-minute reel, was screened 1 Jun 2018 at the 23rd Annual San Francisco Silent Film Festival in San Francisco, CA.