 David O. Selznick (qv) wanted Olivia de Havilland (qv) to play  the female lead, but was faced with insurmountable problems:  Olivia de Havilland (qv) was already committed to Goldwyn for  _Raffles (1939)_ (qv), Warner Bros. was being uncooperative about  lending her out, she was reluctant to accept the part because her  sister, Joan Fontaine (qv), was also under consideration for the  part and her agent was Leland Hayward (qv) who was promoting his  wife, Margaret Sullavan (qv), for the role. Selznick also  considered Loretta Young (qv), Vivien Leigh (qv),  Anita Louise (qv) and Anne Baxter (qv) for the role, but felt  that Young and Leigh were the wrong "type." He finally narrowed the  field down to Joan Fontaine (qv), the studio staff at first  disagreed with his decision to cast Fontaine because she was not yet  an established star.