 Several writers were brought in to "fix" this while Preminger was  shooting Doran William Cannons original script. These "rescue  writers" included Elliott Baker and Stanley Ralph Ross. By the time  Ross was called in, the picture was nearly half done and the scenes  that Ross suggested be cut had already been shot and roughly edited.  Preminger never cheated on wages and paid Ross, Baker and several  other writers in a vain attempt to add jokes. However, Preminger  steadfastly refused to alter the structure of the story.