Miss Susie Slagle's

Augusta Tucker's novel was published in 1939. Paramount paid $20,000 for the film rights.[2] The novel became a best seller.[3] A sequel came out in 1942, The Man Miss Susie Loved.[4]

In 1939 Martin Berkley was assigned to write the script.[5] John Cromwell was assigned to direct under the supervision of Arthur Hornblow.[6]

In January 1941 Paramount announced Jean Arthur would star and Sam Wood would produce and direct with Lorraine Nobel writing a script.[7] Jack Oakie was to play the comic male lead.[8] In May 1941 Irene Dunne was named as lead.[9] In June 1941 filming was postponed so Wood could make For Whom the Bell Tolls.[10]

In August 1943 the project was reactivated when Paramount head of production Buddy DeSylva have it to producer John Houseman, who had just made The Unseen for the studio.[11]

In January 1944 the project was officially put back on Paramount's schedule with a new screenplay done (Hugo Butler was borrowed from MGM to do this[12]) and Betty Field listed as star.[13] The novel was set in Baltimore at Johns Hopkins Hospital but references to that specific city and hospital were removed from the script.[14]

It was thought Houseman might get Orson Welles involved as a star or director. However Welles did not have anything to do with the film.

At one stage Harold Clurman was going to direct - he worked on the script - but left the project and in May 1944 signed a contract with RKO.[15][16][17]

In June the job of directing was given to theatre director John Berry, who had worked with Houseman and Welles in the theatre. He had never made a movie before but Berry spent a number of months at Paramount observing other directors and filming screen tests to get experience.[18][14]

In April 1944 Sonny Tufts was signed for the male lead. Lillian Gish also joined the cast, making her first film in a number of years.[19] In July Joan Caulfield, who had enjoyed Broadway success in Kiss and Tell, was given the female lead, in her motion picture debut.[20] Veronica Lake joined the cast in August, along with Pat Phelan, who had been discovered doing theatre.[21] (Lake later said her role - along with ones in The Blue Dahlie, Out of this World and Hold That Blonde were "not noteworthy."[22]

Filming took place in November 1944. At one stage the film was going to be called The Golden Years but the title was changed back.[23] "I did 54 takes on my first shot," remembered Berry years later.[24]