The production of the movie was held up several weeks after Carole Lombard was admitted to the hospital, following a miscarriage. The press dubbed it an 'appendectomy' to cover up.
This film was made with two endings: one with a romantic ending for the US audiences, and one with an inspirational ending for European audiences.
According to a contemporary article in the New York Times, director George Stevens deleted a serious scene where the doctor is testing the reflexes of a woman involved in the bus crash - and the preview audience laughed.
The European version of this film has the voice of Neville Chamberlain on the radio announcing the beginning of the war between the UK and Germany. As the U.S. was not yet involved in WWII, this scene was not included in versions released elsewhere. The print shown on Turner Classic Movies shows both endings after the end credits with a contemporaneous explanation.
A contemporary article in The Hollywood Reporter noted RKO bought the film rights to the novel by A.J. Cronin specifically as a vehicle for Carole Lombard.