The nightclub sequence was built around the Albertina Rasch's Hades Ballet originally intended to be used in MGM's abandoned The March of Time (1930).
This film uses Technicolor Process 3, a two-color process that can produce reds and greens, but not blues. Hollywood used so much Technicolor in 1929 and 1930 that many thought black-and-white films would go extinct. However, the Great Depression severely stunted the film industry box office, and the studios had to reduce expenses to survive.