Knowing the Singaporean government would never sanction a film that depicted the city as a hotbed of corruption and sleaze, the script that Peter Bogdanovich submitted had been rewritten with all the contentious elements removed. When the film was completed, the Singaporean government was horrified, and banned it.
According to Peter Bogdanovich in "This is Orson Welles", he wanted Welles to direct this film, and Welles was set to do so. However, after some pressure from the studio and Cybill Shepherd, his steady girlfriend at the time, Bogdanovich ended up directing it. This decision led to a falling-out between Bogdanovich and Welles that wasn't resolved until shortly before Welles' death.
To keep the plot on a hush from the Singapore government, the filmmakers went through production under the title "Jack of Hearts". The scripts would have the title, and even the crew members wore shirts with the name.
Jack Lemmon and Jack Nicholson were both considered for the title role by director Peter Bogdanovich.
Raffles in Singapore is still an opulent hotel in 2022.