The purchase of the original story, “The Rose of Monterey,” by First National Pictures, Inc., was reported in the 24 December 1924 Film Daily. Frank Lloyd was initially chosen to direct. It was the only known screen story credited to author Minna Caroline Smith and actress Eugenie Woodward. Although the article referred to the work as a novel, its publication in any form could not be determined from available sources.
       More than a year later, the 6 January 1926 Film Daily stated that the project had been discarded by producer E. M. Asher and replaced with the story, “Good Luck.” Conversely, the 12 June 1926 Exhibitors Herald claimed that “Good Luck” was the original title of “The Rose of Monterey.”
       On 27 November 1926, Motion Picture News reported that John McCormick, general manager of First National’s Burbank, CA, studio, had announced the film as the company’s first for director George Fitzmaurice. News items in the 2 April 1927 and 13 April 1927 Exhibitors Herald noted that it also marked screenwriter Bess Meredyth’s first assignment under her new contract. Principal photography began the following month, as indicated by a chart in the 21 May 1927 issue. E. M. Asher was replaced halfway through the three-month shoot by producer Al Rockett, according to the 28 June 1927 Exhibitors Daily Review.
       The 16 July 1927 Exhibitors Herald reported that the company had left the previous day for location filming in Monterey, CA. Additional cast members included Loretta Young (18 June 1927 Exhibitors Herald) and Gordon Graves (20 July 1927 Variety).
       As production drew to a close, the 5 August 1927 Motion Picture News and the 13 August 1927 Exhibitors Herald announced that the film had been officially titled Rose of the Golden West, based on the assumption that most people were unfamiliar with Monterey. Clarence Fernberg was said to have been Bess Meredyth’s cowriter, while other sources have credited Philip Bartholomae. The company’s return to Burbank was reported in the 6 August 1927 Moving Picture World. No injuries were reported, except for a “minor player” who inadvertently gathered poison ivy leaves. The completion of filming was reported by the 13 August 1927 and 27 August 1927 issues of Exhibitors Herald. Santa Catalina Island, off the coast of Southern California, was identified as an additional location. The 2 September 1927 Film Daily attributed the feature’s intertitles to Rufus McCosh and Dwinelle Benthall; other sources credit Mort Blumenthal. Articles in the 6 September 1927 Daily Film Renter and the September 1927 Photoplay noted that Fitzmaurice directed a cast of approximately 3,000, many of whom were background actors. In his quest for authenticity to the film’s nineteenth-century setting, the director sought only background actresses with long hair. He was unable to find more than fifty out of the 20,000 registered with the Central Casting Bureau in Hollywood, CA.
       The 17 August 1927 Variety revealed that the picture had been the first to be lighted with General Electric mazda incandescent lamps rather than the Klieg and Cooper-Hewitt lamps that had been the industry standard.
       Rose of the Golden West was released on 2 October 1927, preceded by a 24 September 1927 opening at the Strand Theatre in New York City. The 1 October 1927 Exhibitors Herald noted that the song, Rose Of Monterey, was written for the picture by Neil Moret and Byron Gay.
       According to the Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database, this film is extant.