Outward Bound (1930) was based on the 1923 hit play of the same name by Sutton Vane. The play Outward Bound, which had a highly successful 1923 London run, opened on Broadway at the Ritz Theatre on 7 January 7, 1924 and ran for 144 performances. Leslie Howard played the role of Henry in the Broadway stage production. Alfred Lunt played Tom Prior and Margalo Gillmore played Ann.
Dudley Digges, Beryl Mercer and Lyonel Watts all reprised their stage roles for the film. In the film, Leslie Howard took Alfred Lunt's part and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. played the role originally performed by Howard. Robert Milton, who directed the Broadway production, also directed the film version.
FOREWORD: "'Outward Bound' was first produced in London, England on the 17th of September, 1923. We all know the international success that it has since achieved as one of the most important stage plays of this generation. it presented for the first time to the peoples of the world and entirely new and different imaginative conception of life, death, and the hereafter-----And it is little wonder that the producers at that time anxiously awaited the verdict of the public and the press. Would 'Outward Bound' be mistaken for a farcical satire, or would the public recognize the profoundly sincere theme of the play and appreciate the strange psychology and glorious sentiment interwoven between the lines? It was a memorable night. It launched a new era in play-writing. It set a new standard. And now, as you sit in this theatre, we cordially beg you to place yourselves in the same position as that first-night audience in London, and see if the deep sincerity of the Vitaphone version of the play impresses you as it has impressed the appreciative theatre audiences of the world."
When Outward Bound (1930) was initially exhibited in the UK it was banned by censors, but eventually reluctantly released on an "adults-only" policy.
Dudley Digges (The Examiner) played Casper Gutman in The Maltese Falcon (1931). Sydney Greenstreet, who played Gutman in The Maltese Falcon (1941), played the Examiner in the
Outward Bound (1930) remake, Between Two Worlds (1944).