News briefs in the 25 Jan 1923 Var and 27 Jan 1923 Motion Picture News suggested that principal photography had recently begun. Trade journals were enthusiastic about the picture, as it marked comic actor Buster Keaton’s first feature-length film. In the previous five years, Keaton had made a number of shorts, and he was wildly popular with audiences. An article in the 3 Feb 1923 Moving Picture World indicated that writer Thomas J. Gray, a member of Keaton’s “scenario department,” was contributing to the screenplay, but he did not receive credit in contemporary reviews at the time of the picture’s release, whereas three other Keaton collaborators did. Actor Lionel Belmore was listed among the cast; however, his appearance onscreen could not be verified. Several contemporary sources noted that Three Ages marked the screen debut of English actress Margaret Leahy. Leahy came to Hollywood, CA, after winning a London beauty contest organized by Norma Talmadge, who was interested in discovering a new star. A review in the Nov 1923 Motion Picture Magazine noted that Leahy performed “fairly well” opposite Keaton’s buffoonery.
       The 24 Mar 1923 Motion Picture News announced that principal photography had ended. Three months later, on 25 Jun 1923, Three Ages premiered in London, England. Reports in the 7 and 14 Jul 1923 Motion Picture News noted that the sold-out event was attended by members of the royal family, as well as by British press and the public. The trade journal indicated that Metro Pictures Corporation planned to release the film in America sometime in Sep 1923. However, on 1 Aug 1923, FD published several review excerpts, all from San Francisco, CA, newspapers, describing the film’s opening at the Loew’s Warfield. The following month, a 20 Sep 1923 Var column noted that the picture was attracting “favorable interest” in Los Angeles, CA, with showings at the Loew’s State Theatre.
       According to John Bengtson, author of Silent Echos (Santa Monica, CA, 2000), "The Stone Age" portion was entirely filmed at and around the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, CA. Other locations include the Metro Studio at Cahuenga Boulevard and Willoughby Avenue, and the 1600 block of Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood, CA; the former Bovard Athletic Field at the University of Southern California; and Court Hill above the defunct Hill Street Tunnel in downtown Los Angeles. The distinctive row of bungalow apartments where Buster and Margaret Leahy lived was still standing and well-maintained a hundred years later, in 2023, in the 1400 block of El Centro Avenue in Hollywood.