 It was costing Selznick $50,000 each day the film was on hold waiting for a final screenplay rewrite and time was of the essence.Hecht was in the middle of working on the film "At the Circus" for the Marx Brothers.Recalling the episode in a letter to screenwriter friend Gene Fowler, he said he hadn't read the novel but Selznick and director Fleming could not wait for him to read it.