 Columbia originally bought the novel as a vehicle for  Charles Laughton (qv) and his wife Elsa Lanchester (qv) while  that duo instead made _Vessel of Wrath (1938)_ (qv), which was same  story but became box office failure. And at one point  David Niven (I) (qv) and Paul Henreid (qv) were each considered  for the male lead.