the President and screens visitors, leading some to question how powerful she is and how much Wilson is truly acting as President. In the end, Wilson recovers enough to see the election of Republican Warren G. Harding, who has promised to keep the country out of the League of Nations; as his administration ends, he laments his failure but remains hopeful that the League will, in some form or another, be successful in the future. Cast Production Development Wilson was initially intended as a historical drama about a fictional American family living during the Progressive Era before being rewritten by Lamar Trotti into a biopic about Woodrow Wilson. Wilson's daughter, Eleanor Wilson McAdoo, served as an informal counselor. Journalist Ray Stannard Baker, an authority on Wilson, served as an adviser. Casting Before Knox was cast as Wilson, Ronald Colman and Frank Conroy were considered. Claudette Colbert was also considered for one of Wilson's wives. Dwight Frye was cast as Secretary of War Newton D. Baker but died of a heart attack on November 7, 1943, a few days prior to his filming start. Ernest Palmer was hired as cinematographer but had to be replaced by Leon Shamroy after falling ill, while James Basevi quit as art director due to disagreements with the rest of the crew. Filming With a budget of $5.2 million, Wilson was Fox's then most expensive film. Much of the costs went to constructing accurate sets for White House locations such as the East Room, the Blue Room, the Oval Office and the Lincoln Bedroom. Scenes of the Democratic National Convention were shot at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles while scenes set at Princeton were shot on-location in Trenton, New Jersey. Other scenes were shot at the Biltmore Theater in Los Angeles; Pueblo, Colorado; and Midwick Country Club in Alhambra, California. Reception Box office Wilson was promoted by the NBC Blue Network radio show Hall of Fame Broadcast with a radio adaptation of sections of the script. It reportedly lost $2 million for Fox. Sales were damaged due to the United States Department of War prohibiting its exhibition on Armed Forces bases during World War II under provisions of the Soldier Voting Act against the screening of political material that could influence elections such as the ones about to be held on November 7, 1944. Responses The film received generally positive reviews but was not without its