 The title role was written with W.C. Fields (qv) in mind. Producer  Mervyn LeRoy (qv) wanted Ed Wynn (qv), who turned down the role.  MGM executive Arthur Freed (qv) wanted Fields, and offered him  $75,000. Fields supposedly wanted $100,000. According to a letter  from Fields agent (which he claimed was written by Fields) Fields  turned down the role to devote his time to writing the script for  _You Cant Cheat an Honest Man (1939)_ (qv).