Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall were originally signed to play the leads in the film. A November 1955 Hollywood Reporter news item stated that production would begin in January 1956, but on 2 March 1956 the Hollywood Reporter noted that Bogart was in the Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles for “throat surgery.” The leads were recast, and production began in September 1956. Bogart died in January 1957 from cancer of the esophagus.
