 Spencer Tracy had been cast as the male lead in the film just days after MGM purchased the rights to the novel . George Cukor was chosen to direct in late April 1942 because he had dealt well with troubled and headstrong actors in the past , and Tracy was considered a difficult actor to direct . Bronisław <unk> , who had come to MGM in 1935 from Nazi Germany , was assigned to compose the film score . William H. Daniels was named the cinematographer . 
