When the original version of the finished film was submitted to MGM executives, they didn't like it. The film went through heavy editing, and a producer had the idea of tying together the surviving pieces by adding voice-over narration from Mitchell's grown up son, as if he is telling his father's life story.
Howard Keel, who had just finished making
Show Boat (1951), was brought in for this purpose. The changes led to director
William A. Wellman effectively disowning the film. When asked about it in an interview, he said "I've not seen it, and I never will."
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