The scenario was based on the 1900 novel, The Worldlings by Leonard Merrick. News items in the 1 October 1924 Variety and the 4 October 1924 Exhibitors Trade Review announced the upcoming screen adaptation from Samuel Goldwyn Productions as A Thief in Paradise, starring Ronald Colman, who had recently signed a five-year contract with the company, and Doris Kenyon, who was on loan from First National Pictures, Inc. The 25 October 1924 Exhibitors Trade Review noted that co-star Aileen Pringle was on loan from the Metro-Goldwyn Corp.
       The 19 October 1924 Los Angeles Times stated that Colman had recently completed scenes along an unspecified stretch of the Pacific shoreline. Another seaside location was identified by the 29 November 1924 Exhibitors Trade Review as the home of U.S. Senator Charles W. Clark in Del Monte, CA.
       Articles in the 20 December 1924 Exhibitors Trade Review and the 10 January 1925 Exhibitors Herald reported that an unnamed producer of short comedies had plagiarized a scene from the film, which depicted a polo match involving two teams of young women, one comprised of blondes and the other of brunettes, all of whom were clad in bathing suits. The sequence was credited to director George Fitzmaurice, screenwriter Frances Marion, and Goldwyn. The latter went on to speculate that the “cheap imitation” would likely be released prior to his feature and ruin “the novelty element.” Goldwyn was considering placing an injunction against the rival producer.
       The 2 January 1925 [San Francisco, CA] Examiner announced the completion of filming, adding that Goldwyn had engaged Freudian psychologist Professor Alden Sidgewick to advise Fitzmaurice on the most current “ideas of love.” That same week, the 3 January 1925 Exhibitors Trade Review reported Goldwyn’s arrival in New York City with a finished print of the feature, and his plans for an elaborate Broadway opening.
       A Thief in Paradise was released on 18 January 1925, followed by a New York City opening at the Strand Theatre during the week of 25 January 1925. A review in the 27 January 1925 [New York City] Herald-Tribune declared the screen adaptation to be beneath the standards of both Frances Marion and Leonard Merrick. However, the picture received the approval of the Los Angeles District, California Federation of Women’s Clubs, as stated in the 15 February 1925 Los Angeles Times.
       The National Film Preservation Board (NFPB) included this film on its list of Lost U.S. Silent Feature Films as of February 2021.