 After attempts to cast Melvyn Douglas, Edward G. Robinson, John Gielgud, Paul Scofield, and other famous actors in the role, Bridges offered it to Houseman, who agreed to fly to Toronto (where the film's interior sequences were to be shot) for a screen test.Bridges called it "fabulous", and Houseman accepted the part, thus launching his acting career.He had seldom acted before, but knew Bridges from the time he was a stage manager in Houseman's UCLA Professional Theater Group.