Shelley turned down the part of Hazel Aiken, stating that the film is bloodier than "Bloody Mama" and the producers will have a lot to answer for.

Pregnancy caused her to bow out of the film.

Turned down the role of "Alma" because she had a newborn daughter.

Shelley Winters was considered for the role of Mrs. Robinson.

When it became apparant that Lauren Bacall would not be loaned out to co-star with Humphrey Bogart in this picture, she suggested either Shelley Winters or Gloria Grahame for the leading feminine role.

Under contract to Universal, Winters was assigned the female lead but she hated the project so much she purposely gained weight which caused Universal to replace her.

In a case of the right hand not knowing what the left hand was doing, producer Jerry Wald offered Winters the role of Eula Varner at the same time that director Martin Ritt had decided to cast Lee Remick. Executives at Fox sided with Ritt.

When Winters took the role of Maxine Faulk in the Broadway version (replacing Bette Davis), a clause in her contract stated that she would do the part on screen. According to Winters' autobiography, producer Ray Stark forgot about this clause and cast Ava Gardner.

Because of a commitment to appear in a TV production, Winters turned down the lead role. She then persuaded director Bryan Forbes to cast her friend Kim Stanley, who did the movie and received an Oscar nomination.