De Havilland was thought of for this Lubitsch movie but she was busy making other movies at the time.

De Havilland wanted to play this role very much, along with many other actresses.

According to Eileen Heckart's son's biography of his mother, De Havilland, Ingrid Bergman, and Angela Lansbury were all serious candidates for this role. But in the end Eileen Heckart reprised her stage role and won an Oscar for it.

According to 'Lucy at the Movies' by Cindy De la Haz, this movie was originally to have been more of a "Brief Encounter" drama with Olivia De Havilland in the lead.

Warner Bros originally planned Olivia de Havilland to star as Helen Chernen, the ambitious woman who manipulates to make her sister a Broadway star.

Olivia De Havilland was originally cast as the murderous Ivy Lexton, but later withdrew, and was replaced by her sister, Joan Fontaine.

De Havilland was offered the role of Cassandra Towers in this film, but she was not able to make it as she was too busy shooting two other films simultaneously already.

Olivia de Havilland was one of Hitchcock's final choices but she refused the starring role when she learned that her sister Joan Fontaine was also being considered.

After Jane Bryan refused the role and retired, Miss De Havilland turned down the part. Ironically, she would later play in the radio adaptation of the film.

According to Charlotte Chandler's biography of Alfred Hitchcock, De Havilland was considered for this movie when it was to have been directed by Hitchcock.