on a story by Leo McCarey and John D. Klorer. Sinclair Lewis was asked to work on the script but refused, stating: "[A] man who tried to lead in our times the life of an apostle would be an idiot and would be considered by others to be one". Casting McCarey's production company, Rainbow Productions, borrowed Ann Sheridan from Warner Bros., to play the wife of Gary Cooper's character. According to the American Film Institute, Cooper's career was "floundering" at the time, and while he was filming Good Sam he signed a "significant contract" with Warner Bros. For the scene in which a Salvation Army marching band accompanies Cooper's drunken character home, director McCarey assembled a 25-piece band composed of students from several high schools in the Los Angeles area. Filming The film was shot in Los Angeles from August 4 to October 1947. In January 1948, McCarey reportedly filmed additional scenes to provide alternative endings for the film. Preview audiences were then asked to state which of the two endings they preferred. The unused ending is not known. Interior scenes of the church were modeled after the interior of the city's St. James Episcopal Church. The Rev. J. Herbert Smith, pastor of All Saints' Episcopal Church of Beverly Hills, was a technical advisor. Filming was interrupted by Cooper's appearance as a friendly witness before the House Un-American Activities Committee on October 23, 1947. Release The film was released on September 1, 1948. The original 130-minute cut is stored at the Library of Congress. The film was reissued with a runtime of 112 to 114 minutes. The film grossed $2.95 million in domestic and international receipts, giving it a ranking of no. 23 on the list of highest grossing films of 1948. Critical reception Critical reviews were mixed. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times evaluated the film positively, calling it "a mischievous sort of satire" and pointing out that the main character, who behaves like a saint towards everyone, should not be taken seriously. Crowrher wrote: “The principal danger in this picture is that people will take it seriously as a nobly intended tribute to the Good Samaritan type. And that is understandable, for the story is such a cliché that it may not be easily distinguished as an outright travesty. ... But if you'll realize at the outset that the hero of this comic tale is not supposed