The scenario was based on the short story, "Junk," by Kenneth Harris, which first appeared in the 25 December 1920 Saturday Evening Post. The purchase of screen rights by Metro Pictures Corp. was announced in the 29 January 1921 Motion Picture News. The film’s working title was that of the story.
       On 11 June 1921, Camera reported that principal photography was scheduled to begin within the next ten days. The 25 June 1921 and 2 July 1921 issues included Eileen Hume and Edward Jobson among the cast. Lead actor Bert Lytell was credited in the 16 July 1921 Moving Picture World with portraying three consecutive generations of his character’s lineage.
       Following the close of production, the 22 October 1921 Motion Picture News stated that the feature was one of six written by June Mathis over a period of five months. It was also noted that production took place at Metro Studios in Hollywood, CA. The December 1921 Picture-Play announced the film’s official title as The Idle Rich, claiming that it was one of several titles changed by Metro executives during a slow day at the studio.
       The picture was released on 26 December 1921, preceded by a Chicago, IL, opening at the Ziegfeld Theatre during the week of 18 December 1921, and followed by a Los Angeles opening at Loew’s State Theatre during the week of 26 February 1922.
       The title was listed in the March 1922 Moving Picture Age as a current release approved by the Federation Motion Picture Committee. However, the organization recommended the removal of gambling scenes in Reel 1, mention of “The devil” in Reel 2, and “grammatical errors” in Reel 5.
       According to the Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Database, this film is extant.