The original idea for the film came from Charlie Chaplin collaborator Charles Reisner, who was the director.
Keaton, who had directed or co-directed many of his earlier films, was an uncredited co-director on this project.
In June 1927, Keaton traveled to Sacramento, California, and spent over $100,000 building sets, including a pier.
Original plans called for an ending with a flood sequence, but due to the devastating 1927 Mississippi River Flood, producer Joseph Schenck forced Keaton to cut the sequence.
Keaton also spent an additional $25,000 for the cyclone scene, which included breakaway street sets and six powerful Liberty-motor wind machines.
The cyclone scene cost one-third of the film's entire budget, estimated at between $300,000 and $404,282.
Keaton himself, who calculated and performed his own stunts, was suspended on a cable from the crane which hurled him from place to place as if airborne.

Shooting began on July 15, 1927, in Sacramento.
Production was delayed when Keaton broke his nose in a baseball game.
The film includes Keaton's single most famous stunt: an entire building facade collapsing all around him.
The open attic window fits neatly around Keaton's body as it falls, coming within inches of flattening him. (
Keaton had performed a similar, though less elaborate, stunt in his earlier short films One Week and Back Stage).
Keaton did the stunt himself with a real, two-ton building facade and no trickery.
It has been claimed that if he had stood just inches off the correct spot, Keaton would have been seriously injured or killed.
His third wife Eleanor suggested that he took such risks due to despair over financial problems, his failing first marriage, the imminent loss of his filmmaking independence, and recklessness borne of his worsening alcohol abuse at the time.
Evidence that Keaton was suicidal, however, is scant—he was known throughout his career for performing dangerous stunts independent of any difficulties in his personal life, including a fall from a railroad water tower tube in 1924's Sherlock Jr. in which his neck was fractured.

At the end of shooting, Schenck announced the dissolution of Buster Keaton Productions.
Keaton shot the risky stunt, not caring if he lived or died, later saying "I was mad at the time, or I would never have done the thing."
The mark on the ground telling Keaton exactly where to stand to avoid being crushed was a nail.
Keaton later said that filming the shot was one of his greatest thrills.

It is one of the few Keaton films to reference his fame.
At the time of filming, he had stopped wearing his trademark pork pie hat with a short flat crown.
During an early scene in which his character tries on a series of hats (something that was copied several times in other films), a clothing salesman briefly puts the trademark cap on his head, but he quickly rejects it, tossing it away.
The original idea for the film came from Charlie Chaplin collaborator Charles Reisner, who was the director. Keaton, who had directed or co-directed many of his earlier films, was an uncredited co-director on this project. In June 1927, Keaton traveled to Sacramento, California, and spent over $100,000 building sets, including a pier. Original plans called for an ending with a flood sequence, but due to the devastating 1927 Mississippi River Flood, producer Joseph Schenck forced Keaton to cut the sequence. Keaton also spent an additional $25,000 for the cyclone scene, which included breakaway street sets and six powerful Liberty-motor wind machines. The cyclone scene cost one-third of the film's entire budget, estimated at between $300,000 and $404,282. Keaton himself, who calculated and performed his own stunts, was suspended on a cable from the crane which hurled him from place to place as if airborne.
Shooting began on July 15, 1927, in Sacramento. Production was delayed when Keaton broke his nose in a baseball game. The film includes Keaton's single most famous stunt: an entire building facade collapsing all around him. The open attic window fits neatly around Keaton's body as it falls, coming within inches of flattening him. (Keaton had performed a similar, though less elaborate, stunt in his earlier short films One Week and Back Stage). Keaton did the stunt himself with a real, two-ton building facade and no trickery. It has been claimed that if he had stood just inches off the correct spot, Keaton would have been seriously injured or killed. His third wife Eleanor suggested that he took such risks due to despair over financial problems, his failing first marriage, the imminent loss of his filmmaking independence, and recklessness borne of his worsening alcohol abuse at the time. Evidence that Keaton was suicidal, however, is scant—he was known throughout his career for performing dangerous stunts independent of any difficulties in his personal life, including a fall from a railroad water tower tube in 1924's Sherlock Jr. in which his neck was fractured.
At the end of shooting, Schenck announced the dissolution of Buster Keaton Productions. Keaton shot the risky stunt, not caring if he lived or died, later saying "I was mad at the time, or I would never have done the thing." The mark on the ground telling Keaton exactly where to stand to avoid being crushed was a nail. Keaton later said that filming the shot was one of his greatest thrills.
It is one of the few Keaton films to reference his fame. At the time of filming, he had stopped wearing his trademark pork pie hat with a short flat crown. During an early scene in which his character tries on a series of hats (something that was copied several times in other films), a clothing salesman briefly puts the trademark cap on his head, but he quickly rejects it, tossing it away.
Steamboat Bill, Jr.