Burt Lancaster actively campaigned to play the alcoholic husband in this film, even though he was younger than the character, Doc, who was in his mid-fifties. 'Sidney Blackmer', who had played the part on Broadway in the original production, was 18 years older than Lancaster, and
Shirley Booth was 15 years his senior. The role of Doc was coveted by
Humphrey Bogart, who was the right age, but Bogart lost out to Lancaster due to studio politics, despite the fact that he had just turned in his Oscar-winning performance in
The African Queen (1951).
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