The scenario was based on the 1924 novel Sackcloth and Scarlet by George Gibbs, which first appeared as a series in the Jan 1924 issue of Red Book, and was later published in book form. On 19 Oct 1924, Film Daily reported that producer Robert T. Kane was traveling to Los Angeles, CA, to begin work on the screen version, provisionally titled Sackcloth and Ashes, starring Alice Terry and Conway Tearle. Filming was scheduled to begin at United Studios at 5341 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, CA. The 8 Oct 1924 Exhibitors Herald reported the official title as Sackcloth and Scarlet. Conway Tearle was later replaced by Orville Caldwell.
       According to the 30 Nov 1924 and 7 Dec 1924 editions of LAT, director Henry King held several weeks of screen tests to cast the film, ultimately selecting a group of lesser known players in support of Alice Terry. Shortly after the start of production, the 11 Dec 1924 Film Daily announced newcomer Dorothy Sebastian for the second female lead. The Mar 1925 Motion Picture noted that she had already appeared in two major Broadway shows. Locations were identified in the 6 Dec 1924 San Francisco Examiner and the 21 Jan 1925 LAT as Big Bear Lake, CA, and Lake Arrowhead, CA.
       Articles in the 14 Jan 1925 LAT and the 7 Feb 1925 Exhibitors Trade Review revealed that Orville Caldwell suffered a severe injury to his left knee during the final days of production, after the horse he was riding “shied at a piece of wind-blown paper.” The actor required crutches to walk and was subjected to “daily baking treatments” at Hollywood Hospital. Regardless, filming was completed on schedule.
       Sackcloth and Scarlet opened in early Mar 1925 at the Majestic Theatre in Bridgeport, CT, during the week of 15 Mar 1925 at the Metropolitan Theatre in Los Angeles, and on 22 Mar 1925 at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City. The 28 Mar 1925 Exhibitors Herald noted that an early Mar 1925 opening in Chicago, IL, was postponed by the local censorship board due to its inclusion of a premarital sexual relationship. A permit was issued to show the film after it was demonstrated that it contained “a sufficient moral.”
       Although the film was released by Paramount Pictures Corp. in the U.S., the Dec 1925 Pictures and the Picturegoes claimed that it was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in Great Britain.
       The National Film Preservation Board (NFPB) included this film on its list of Lost U.S. Silent Feature Films as of October 2019.