The film has been considered to be among several films made in the 1910 and 1920s which were playing off of anti-Russian feelings in Poland during that time. The film was the last film made by director Aleksander Hertz before Polish independence from Russia.
The film was met with negativereactions upon its release, it became controversial with both government censors and general audiences for portraying the events of the murder realistically. The controversy brought the studio Sfinks into a public scandal.