The 7 March 1925 Moving Picture World announced that Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (M-G-M) had purchased film rights to the successful 1924 Broadway play, Merry Wives of Gotham, written by Laurence Eyre. According to the 8 March 1925 Film Daily, M-G-M was set to co-produce the picture with Cosmopolitan Productions, owned by William Randolph Hearst, as a vehicle for Hearst’s paramour, Marion Davies. As part of the deal, Davies would receive a percentage of the film’s profits, as well as her salary, and distribution would be handled by M-G-M. The 28 March 1925 Exhibitors Trade Review reported that Davies was to be paid a $10,000 per week salary by M-G-M to star in two pictures, including The Merry Wives of Gotham.
       Production was initially scheduled to begin in late May 1925 at the M-G-M studios in Culver City, CA, according to the 9 May 1925 Moving Picture World. Noting a title change to Lights of Old New York, the 6 June 1925 Motion Picture News announced that principal photography would begin within the next few days. However, on 13 June 1925, Exhibitors Trade Review indicated that director Monta Bell was still casting the picture. Two small roles were given to teenage sisters Lenore and Virginia Bushman, daughters of actor Francis X. Bushman, according to the 8 August 1925 Moving Picture World. Margaret Reid, a background actress who wrote of her experience on the set in the October 1925 Picture-Play Magazine, claimed that a theater scene shot “in ‘technicolor’” required carefully colored costumes and stage makeup. Reid named others involved in the project: Harry Crocker, a “millionaire extra”; Crete Sipple, a former circus woman turned stand-in; and M.K. Wilson, assistant to Monta Bell.
       The 18 July 1925 Motion Picture News listed a final title change to Lights of Old Broadway. The following month, an item in the 26 August 1925 Variety reported that William Randolph Hearst and Marion Davies had been unhappy with “the rapidity of the making” of the picture, shot over the course of four weeks; in response, M-G-M had ordered fifty retakes to be made to their satisfaction by Marshall Neilan. Following the conclusion of filming, Joseph W. Farnham was brought on to write titles, according to a 24 October 1925 Exhibitors Herald brief.
       The world premiere was scheduled to take place on 31 October 1925 at the Loew’s State Theatre in Los Angeles, CA, as announced in the 17 October 1925 Motion Picture News. However, items in the 18 October and 19 October 1925 Los Angeles Times stated that the film opened that week at Loew’s State. The 24 October 1925 Exhibitors Trade Review stated that a New York City premiere was slated to take place on 1 November 1925. A review in the 4 November 1925 Variety deemed the film “a corking picture,” and the 8 November 1925 FD review called it “delightful,” “first rate,” and a “charming romantic story.”
       Lights of Old Broadway was fully restored by Film Foundation, an organization founded in 1990 by director Martin Scorsese. It was screened at the 24th San Francisco Silent Film Festival on 4 May 2019.