Director William Wyler was known for shooting an excessive number of takes on his films, usually without explaining to the actors what to do differently except "[make it] better", and this one was no exception. Many of the actors, including Jean Simmons and Carroll Baker, were so traumatized by his directing style that they refused to speak about the experience for years. Simmons later said they constantly received rewrites for the script, making acting extremely difficult. Gregory Peck and Wyler, who were good friends, fought constantly on the set and had a falling out for three years, although they later reconciled. Wyler and Charles Bickford also clashed, as they had done 30 years previously on the production of his 1929 film Hell's Heroes. Burl Ives, however, claimed to have enjoyed making the film.
director william wyler was known for shooting an excessive number of takes on his films usually without explaining to the actors what to do differently except "[make it] better" and this one was no exception many of the actors including jean simmons and carroll baker were so traumatized by his directing style that they refused to speak about the experience for years simmons later said they constantly received rewrites for the script making acting extremely difficult gregory peck and wyler who were good friends fought constantly on the set and had a falling out for three years although they later reconciled wyler and charles bickford also clashed as they had done 30 years previously on the production of his 1929 film hell's heroes burl ives however claimed to have enjoyed making the film