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This film has been under common ownership with its 1981 remake ever since that film was released. That year, its distributor, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, acquired United Artists, which had owned the rights to the 1943 version since its 1958 purchase of Associated Artists Productions which had owned the pre-1950 Warner Bros. library. Turner Entertainment, a subsidiary of Turner Broadcasting System, bought the pre-1986 MGM library and the pre-1950 WB library from MGM/UA in 1986. 10 years later, WB regained its pre-1950 library, plus the pre-1986 MGM films, when its parent Time Warner purchased Turner, which continues to hold the copyrights to both film versions of the play, with Warner Bros. handling distribution.
Bette Davis personally requested the casting of Norma Shearer in the role of Mildred Drake. Shearer refused the role and the part went to Miriam Hopkins.
This film was the second collaboration of legendary arch-enemies Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins, (Their previous collaboration had been The Old Maid (1939).) The fact that in 1939, Bette Davis had an affair with Miriam Hopkins' then-husband, director Anatole Litvak, only added to their mutual hatred. To their credit, the two actresses had a sense of humor about the situation and allowed publicity photographs to be taken of them facing each other wearing boxing gloves, with director Vincent Sherman between them.
In one scene, an enraged Millie refers to Kit as "Jezebel!" This was the title of Bette Davis' blockbuster hit five years before this movie - (Jezebel (1938)). Hopkins herself had starred in "Jezebel" on the stage before the play was filmed.
According to director Vincent Sherman, the film's original director, Edmund Goulding wanted to avoid the Bette Davis-Miriam Hopkins feud and feigned illness in order to be taken off the picture.
This is the film with the often shown, camp classic scene of Bette Davis calmly grabbing Miriam Hopkins by the shoulders, vigorously shaking her, throwing her down into a chair, and then calmly saying with a clipped, sarcastic edge: "Sorry." Bette Davis later admitted she immensely enjoyed playing that scene.