The film exhibits slight similarities to a lesser known 1931 French film directed by René Clair entitled "À nous la liberté" ("Liberty for Us") – the assembly line sequence is an instance in that both films depict it, but in different ways. The German film company Tobis Film, hungry for cash, sued Chaplin following the film's release to no avail. They sued again after World War II (considered revenge for Chaplin's anti-Nazi statements in "The Great Dictator"). This time, they settled with Chaplin out of court. Clair, a huge admirer of Chaplin who was flattered that the film icon would depict a similar subject, was deeply embarrassed that Tobis Film would sue Chaplin, and was never part of the case.