Gerson Pictures Corp. announced the upcoming series of action features starring Richard Holt in the 21 February 1925 Moving Picture World and the 28 February 1925 Exhibitors Herald. Three of the pictures had already been completed, with The Canvas Kisser in the final stage of filming. Additional actors appearing in the series included Hazel Keener, Victor Potel, Sylvia Breamer, Joseph Girard, Hal Stephens, Eric Mayne, Harris Gordon, Charles W. French, and Miriam Fouche. While the articles stated that Gerson Studios were located in San Francisco, CA, the 11 April 1925 claimed that B. Berger, the company’s general manager, was based in Los Angeles, CA. The 29 July 1925 [Fresno, CA] Bee defined the term, “canvas kisser,” as a prizefighter who agrees to throw the results of a boxing match by pretending to be knocked out, also known as “taking a dive.”
       The film was released on the states’ rights market in the spring of 1925. Openings followed on 23 May 1925 at the Orpheum Theatre in Yonkers, NY; in early to mid-June 1925 at Loew’s New York Theatre in New York City; and on 19 July 1925 at the Strand Theatre in Glen Falls, NY. An item in the 10 June 1925 Variety declared the picture to be ideal entertainment for boys between the ages of seven and seventeen, as it featured considerable action and violence, while including only one woman in the cast.
       The National Film Preservation Board (NFPB) included this film on its list of Lost U.S. Silent Feature Films as of February 2021.
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