"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie onMay 6, 1940 with William Holden and Martha Scott reprising their film roles.
Martha Scott was not considered for the role of "Emily" at first, because of her poor screen test for the role of "Melanie" in Gone with the Wind, but she was chosen after much auditioning of other actresses.
Thornton Wilder won the Pulitzer Prize for the play the film is based on. The score for the film is by another Pulitzer Prize winner: Aaron Copland.
Because the play was performed on nearly a bare stage and the main character dies in the end, the production was delayed several months due to the difficulty in translating it to the screen. Thornton Wilder and producer Sol Lesser worked together closely to modify the play. No changes were made without Wilder's permission.
The play opened on Broadway in New York City, New York, USA on 4 February 1938 at Henry Miller's Theatre, and had 338 performances. Frank Craven, Martha Scott (her Broadway debut), Arthur B. Allen and Doro Merande originated their movie roles in the play, and Teresa Wright was an understudy. The popular Pulitzer Prize play also had 3 revivals on Broadway.
The poster advertising for this film made it sound as if it were a tense psychological melodrama about somewhat scandalous characters, which it most certainly wasn't.