M had assigned  George Abbott (qv), the director of the stage show, to direct the  film version. However, Louis B. Mayer (qv) and other studio  executives disliked the stage show when they saw it and regretted  their involvement in the property. By November 1945, the studio had  assigned Gene Kelly (I) (qv) and Stanley Donen (qv) to direct  the film, and contracted Betty Comden (qv) and Adolph Green (qv)  to rewrite the book with much of Leonard Bernstein (qv)s original  score discarded. The film features only four songs from the original  musical, those composed by Leonard Bernstein (qv), and six that  were created especially for the screen.