 The original story, "Chinese Finale", was presented as an episode of "Alcoa Theatre" in March 1960 with Hilda Plowright as Miss Andrews and Jan Sterling as Dr. Mary Cartwright.John Ford considered both Katharine Hepburn and Jennifer Jones for the role of Dr. Cartwright, and Rosalind Russell lobbied for the part, but eventually Patricia Neal was cast.Ford began the film on 8 February 1965 on the MGM backlot, but after three days of filming, Neal had a stroke.