Alan Ladd was offered the role of Walter Neff and turned it down.

For George Stevens' great American epic, the director favored Alan Ladd, his star of "Shane" who was in the midst of a career decline, to play oilman Jett Rink.

He so badly wanted the title role in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) that he personally pressed his case with director David Lean, but Lean cast Peter O'Toole in the part.