Location filming began in Chico, CA, on 13 Apr 1917, as reported in that day’s edition of the Chico Enterprise. The company was working in conjunction with the Cole Bros. Circus, which was also in town that week. Additional cast members included May Palmer, Katherine Graham, Leonard O. Wheeler, J. Lealock, O. Boyle, Paul Case, and Fred Graham. Paul Powell was directing, with John W. Leezer as cinematographer. John Ince was credited as producer, although this may have been an error, as the article also claimed that he was the owner of Ince Studios in Culver City, CA.
       Two days later, the production moved to nearby Oroville, CA, according to the 16 April 1917 Oroville Daily Register. Lead actress Bessie Love was expected to participate in the circus’s parade that day and as one of its performers that night. Love’s mother was also traveling with the company. The 17 April 1917 and 23 April 1917 editions of the Oroville Daily Register noted that scenes were filmed in and around the town over the next four days, before the sixteen-member company left on 21 Apr 1917. An article in the October 1918 Motion Picture revealed that Love also learned horseback riding for the film, and that the company traveled with Cole Bros. for two weeks. Also participating in the production were actress Aggie Herring and writer Monte M. Katterjohn, as stated in the 1918 Motion Picture News Studio Directory.
       The Sawdust Ring was released on 15 July 1917, opening that same day at the Rialto Theatre in New York City. Other openings followed on 24 July 1917 at the Gardelia Theatre in Oroville, and on 30 July 1917 at Clune’s Auditorium in Los Angeles, CA. The 15 August 1917 New York Clipper reported that Bessie Love attracted an enormous crowd when she made a personal appearance during the latter engagement.
       According to the Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database, this film is extant.