Filming was set to begin 20 Nov 1922, according to the 25 Nov 1922 Motion Picture News. The 2 Dec 1922 Exhibitors Trade Review announced that production was underway for The Isle of Dead Ships, the first of four pictures by director Maurice Tourneur, under his contract with United Studios president M. C. Levee. Prior to principal photography, Tourneur visited the San Francisco, CA, waterfront in search of antique sailing vessels to be transported to the studio. Exterior shots were filmed around the kelp beds near the coastal city of San Juan Capistrano, CA. On 30 Dec 1922, Exhibitors Herald reported that the cast and crew sailed to San Francisco on the H. F. Alexander, which would appear in the film’s opening sequences. As stated in the 20 Jan 1923 Exhibitors Trade Review, Tourneur’s thirty-man crew constructed twenty replica nineteenth-century warships for the “Sargasso Sea sequence.” The 3 Feb 1923 Exhibitors Herald noted that the crew also built a submarine set, resembling an actual vessel cut lengthwise. Following the conclusion of principal photography, Tourneur announced the official title as The Isle of Lost Ships, as reported in the 17 Feb 1923 Exhibitors Trade Review. The Mar 1923 Motion Picture Magazine revealed that actress Anna Q. Nilsson was attacked on set by a large monkey, which nearly clawed the flesh from her shoulders. According to the 10 Mar 1923 Motion Picture News, United Studios opened its doors to the public, allowing visitors to peruse Tourneur’s sets.
       The Isle of Lost Ships opened 19 Mar 1923 at the Strand Theatre in New York City. Reviews were generally positive, several of which commended Tourneur’s novel, atmospheric rendering of the story.
       Actress Hope Hampton told the Apr 1924 Pictures and Picturegoer that she was initially considered for a starring role in The Isle of Lost Ships while under contract to Associated First National Pictures.
       Another adaptation of Crittenden Marriott's novel was made in 1929 by First National Pictures. Also titled The Island of Lost Ships, that film starred Jason Robards and Virginia Valli (see entry).