The film begins with the following prologue: “This is the story of a romantic Young Man who has a passion for saving Ladies from real, or imaginary, difficulties—always like Don Quixote, with the most honorable intent. But the Wives of such chivalrous Men are not so philanthropically interested in saving other Women’s souls--however noble and sincere their Husband’s impulses.”
       On 19 Nov 1920, Var announced that Famous Players-Lasky Corp. was temporarily downsizing its West Coast operation in Los Angeles, CA, and had dismissed over 200 employees, consisting of mainly “help and extras.” A new policy dictated that the studio’s production schedule would be limited to three directors – Cecil B. DeMille, William DeMille, and George Melford – and each filmmaker was allotted four “super special” pictures, featuring “all star credits.” The Affairs of Anatol, an adaptation of the 1893 play Anatol by Arthur Schnitzler, was scheduled to be the first production under the new protocol. One week later, a 26 Nov 1920 Var article reported that a related Famous Players-Lasky press notice had generated a publicity frenzy, as it declared that the studio had established a new “stock company” that would produce films in which “all the stars under the Paramount banner would appear in all the pictures.” The move was intended to elevate “all Paramount stars to the position of super-stars,” according to a statement from Famous Players-Lasky, and to accommodate the many female leading roles necessary for The Affairs of Anatol, which was set to be the stock company’s inaugural feature.
       By 8 Jan 1921, the title was changed to Five Kisses, and production was underway at Lasky Studios in Hollywood, CA, as noted in a Moving Picture World column published that day. The film was reportedly “the biggest ever attempted at the Lasky studio.” At that time, actors Monte Blue and Raymond Hatton had recently been cast. French illustrator and decorator Paul Iribe was at work on the sets with his “collaborator,” Howard Higgin, and Cullen Tate was listed as director Cecil B. DeMille’s assistant. After two weeks, the 21 Jan 1921 Var announced an industry-wide, twenty-five-to-fifty percent reduction in non-contract film actor salaries, due to an oversupply of talent in Hollywood. Famous Players-Lasky was one of the first studios to adopt the new cutbacks as a result of the inflated costs of The Affairs of Anatol, which was still in production after three months of filming at an overhead cost of over $300,000. According to Paramount Pictures’ founder Adolph Zukor, the film’s negative would most likely amount to $800,000, more than twice the expense of a similar picture produced one year earlier. A news item in the 22 Jan 1921 Motion Picture News announced that production on Anatol was completed, and the film was set to be released as Five Kisses.
       On 5 Feb 1921, a Moving Picture World article explained the discrepancies in the title and stated that the original name (The Affairs of Anatol) had been restored due to overwhelming protest against Five Kisses, which referred to “Anatol’s” five mistresses. The studio had financed a national poll of fans and exhibitors to test Five Kisses, and responders voted in favor of The Affairs of Anatol because it retained a closer affiliation with the film’s literary source. Jesse L. Lasky told Moving Picture World that the survey reflected a significant transformation in the public’s perspective about film: “Up to, within the last year or so, motion pictures were looked upon as appealing more to the unsophisticated and less cultured. But during the past two years there has been such a decided change for the better in the production of pictures that now every class, from the college professor to the shop girl, is an ardent picture fan… [who] now demand film titles of dignity and tradition.”
       The Mar-Aug 1921 edition of Picture-Play featured a photograph of “the staff that prepared the scenario,” which portrayed Lorna Moon and Beulah Marie Dix along with scenarist Jeanie Macpherson and Cecil B. DeMille. Contemporary sources added Dorothy Cumming to the cast, but she was not included in the 24 Sep 1921 Motion Picture News review, which listed the following players: Guy Oliver as The Spencer butler; Ruth Miller as The Spencer maid; Lucien Littlefield as The Spencer valet; Zelma Maja as Nurse; Shannon Day as Chorus girl; Elinor Glyn and Lady Packer as Bridge players; William Boyd and Maud Wayne as Guests; Fred Huntley as Stage manager; and Alma Bennett as Chorus girl. The literary source was presented as: “Suggested by Arthur Schnitzler’s play and the paraphrase thereof by Granville Barker.” Picture-Play also stated that lead actor Wallace Reid was instructed to destroy “everything breakable” on set while filming one scene, and the loss of props was estimated to cost the production $30,000. After demolishing furniture and a piano, Reid reportedly concluded the sequence by hurling a divan through French doors. Gloria Swanson told Picture-Play that she began work on The Affairs of Anatol six weeks after giving birth to her daughter, because she believed it was her “last chance” to perform in a DeMille picture.
       On 3 Sep 1921, Motion Picture News announced that “Sunday proved a record-breaking day for Paramount special productions in Chicago,” indicating that the film screened in that city on Sunday, 28 Aug 1921, one month before its national release date. After the exhibition at the Ascher Brothers’ “new” Roosevelt Theater, owner Max Ascher sent a wire to Paramount stating: “Consider this the greatest box-office attraction ever produced.” A 10 Sep 1921 Motion Picture News item noted that momentum was building for the 25 Sep 1921 opening, and Saturday Evening Post planned to publish a “double-truck advertisement of a single motion picture” for the first time, announcing “the biggest day and date booking in the whole history of motion pictures—bar none!” A record-breaking 211 theaters were listed by name in the notice, and the general manager of Paramount’s distribution department, S. R. Kent, was credited with launching a national ”Anatol week.”
       Upon its general release, The Affairs of Anatol maintained its early box-office success, setting ticket sales records at the Rialto and Rivoli theatres in New York City, as announced in the 1 Oct 1921 Motion Picture News. It marked the first time a picture was released simultaneously in both theaters, and sold 10,166 tickets at the Rialto, and 9,959 at the Rivoli, on opening day alone. The Affairs of Anatol was scheduled to run for two weeks at both venues, and was expected to be viewed by over 200,000 New Yorkers – three percent of the city’s population at that time.