A 6 Jan 1923 Exhibitors Trade Review news item stated that producer Joseph M. Schenck had recently purchased film rights to Margaret Peterson’s 1922 novel, The Dust of Desire. The property was acquired expressly for actress Norma Talmadge, Schenck’s wife. Seven months later, news briefs in the 18 Aug 1923 Exhibitors Trade Review and 19 Aug 1923 FD indicated that production on Dust of Desire would begin “within the next two weeks” at United Studios in Los Angeles, CA. On 2 Oct 1923, FD reported that cast and crew were about halfway through filming.
       A full-page article in the Nov 1923 AmCin described cinematographer Gaetano Antonio “Tony” Gaudio’s innovative technique for shooting night scenes during the day. He tested his experimental ideas, which involved treating the film negative with a “special coloring solution,” on Dust of Desire, taking a company of 400 people to “the desert” of Oxnard, CA, for three days of shooting Algerian night scenes in broad daylight. When the pre-treated film was later processed, it yielded black skies, light foregrounds, a clearly defined skyline, strong silhouettes, and sharp moonlight shadows. The results were a significant improvement over former methods of tinting the film positive, a technique that could never compensate for the daytime sky. Alternatively, actual night filming was expensive due to the costs for electricians, electrical equipment, and the electricity itself. Producer Schenck enthused that Gaudio’s technique saved him well over $5,000 a day, and anticipated that the industry would soon adopt the new process.
       A 29 Oct 1923 FD article listed a 24 Dec 1923 release date for Dust of Desire. On 2 Dec 1923, the same trade magazine indicated that the film’s title had changed to The Woman of the Sahara. However, at some point prior to the Dec opening, the title The Song of Love was chosen.