A news item in the 13 December 1928 LAT announced Raoul Walsh as the upcoming film's director, but Walsh, who had lost an eye following a car accident while making In Old Arizona (see entry) in early October 1928, was replaced by Irving Cummings.
       The 24 March 1929 Film Daily reported that Behind That Curtain was "in the final stages of preparation at the Fox studio" at 1401 North Western Avenue in Hollywood, CA. Filming began on 22 April 1929, according to the 15 June 1929 Exhibitors Herald-World. The 29 April 1929 Film Daily mentioned that "Cummings is to start soon with a caravan of 80 to Furnace Creek Ranch in Death Valley," to shoot exterior desert scenes. A follow-up in the 11 June 1929 Film Daily reported: "Two weeks on location in Death Valley gave Irving Cummings his first 'knick-name.'...A burro was needed and scouts sent to find one. In the meantime the troupe had removed shirts on account of the heat. The burro was found and the owner insisted on talking to 'The Big Boss, No Shirt.' The name still stands."
       This was the only film of E. L. Park, who portrayed "Charlie Chan." He was both the first "Charlie Chan" and the only Asian actor to portray the character.
       In a 4 May 1929 Exhibitors Herald-World item, date-lined 30 April, Fox General Manager Winfield Sheehan predicted a 10 June 1929 release for Behind the Curtain, but that date was later pushed back.
       The silent version of Behind That Curtain was the first release by Fox's new silent department, whose job was to write titles and make alternate cuts from the talkies, the 24 August 1929 Exhibitors Herald-World noted. John Stone and Wilbur Morse led the work on the film.
       Behind the Curtain and the $5-million brand new Fox Theatre in San Francisco, CA, premiered together on the same Friday night, 28 June 1929, the 3 August 1929 Motion Picture News reported. "Seats for the dedicatory performance went on sale one month in advance of the opening, scaling at $2, $3 and $5. Saturday, June 29th, the Fox opened on regular schedule with the same show at regular prices." Will Rogers emceed the gala affair, and many Hollywood stars showed up.
       Behind the Curtain was a "solid hit" when it opened at Broadway's Roxy Theatre in New York as part of a nearly two-and-a-half-hour show, according to the 6 July 1929 Motion Picture News. The 17 July 1929 Variety reported that it took in over $115,000 the first week, but then fell to $86,809 during the second.
       A Fox Movietone advertisement in the 7 July 1929 Film Daily boasted that the "All Dialog Mystery Melodrama" had "perfect reproduction of natural outdoor sounds...[and] the speed and movement of a silent picture," thanks to Movietone's "sound-on-film" process.
       Behind That Curtain was the first film in Fox's long-running Charlie Chan series, as well as being the first all-dialogue Chan film, even though his role was small (the September 1929 Photoplay noted that he was "reduced to a minor figure"). Earl Derr Biggers' original novel was serialized in The Saturday Evening Post (31 Mar--5 May 1928). The novel also became the basis for the 1932 Fox production Charlie Chan's Chance, directed by John Blystone and starring Warner Oland (see entry). For additional information on other films featuring the Chinese detective, see the 1931 Fox production Charlie Chan Carries On, directed by Hamilton MacFadden and starring Warner Oland and Marguerite Churchill.