The Paradine Case - Production

Production

David O. Selznick had purchased the rights to Robert S. Hichens' novel in 1933, before it was published, when Selznick was still at MGM, with Greta Garbo in mind to star – indeed, Garbo was Hichens' inspiration for the creation of "Mrs. Paradine". Garbo did consider doing the film, but ultimately turned it down, as she decided to retire from acting. (Garbo had also turned down I Remember Mama at about the same time, and is reputed to have said "No murderesses, no mamas".)

Howard Estabrook was assigned to write the script at that time, and it was announced that John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore and Diana Wynyard would star in the film. A draft of the script was submitted by MGM to the censors at the Hays Office, who warned that the script would likely be rejected since Mrs. Paradine was guilty of murder, adultery and perjury, and later committed suicide. They also objected to the judge being portrayed as a sadist who enjoyed sending people to their deaths. A new draft of the script was submitted, but not for some years, in 1942, and this script was approved. In 1946, another version was sent in, and this was also approved after the suicide was removed from the story.

In 1946, it was announced that Alfred Hitchcock would direct the film, and that Laurence Olivier would star as the barrister, but Olivier eventually turned the project down, as he was preparing for his production of Hamlet. Hitchcock was also interested in Ronald Colman for the part, as well as Garbo (who had not yet turned down the project) or Ingrid Bergman for "Mrs. Paradine". Other actors who were considered for the film include: Maurice Evans, Joseph Cotten, Alan Marshal, James Mason for "Anthony Keane"; Hedy Lamarr for Mrs. Paradine; Claude Rains for "Lord Thomas Horfield"; and Robert Newton for Mrs. Paradine's lover. In the end, Hitchcock pushed for Gregory Peck, then at the peak of his box office appeal, Ann Todd was loaned from the Rank Organisation to play his wife, and Selznick settled on Alida Valli, considered one of the most promising actresses in the Italian cinema for "Mrs. Paradine".

The Paradine Case was the last film made under Hitchcock's seven-year contract with Selznick, and it has been suggested that Hitchcock was tired of the association by that time. In an interview with François Truffaut, Hitchcock said that he and his wife Alma Reville wrote the first draft of the script together, before bringing in Scottish playwright James Bridie to do a polishing – but Selznick was dissatisfied with the result, and would view the previous days rushes, do a rewrite, and send the new scenes to the set to be shot.

The film was in production from December 19, 1946 to May 7, 1947, with retakes done in November of that year. It was shot entirely on three sets at Selznick's Culver City, California lot, with no location shooting of any kind, a first in Selznick's career as an independent producer. Selznick reportedly spared no expense: the set for the courtroom scenes exactly duplicated a courtroom in London's Old Bailey, photographed, with permission, by unit manager Fred Ahern, and built in 85 days at the cost of $80,000. Unusually, the set had ceilings to allow for low camera angles.

For the courtroom sequence, Hitchcock used a new technique by utilizing four cameras shooting simultaneously, each focused on one of the principal actors in the scene – multiple camera photography had been used in the past, but only to shoot the same subject. This set-up, including elaborately choreographed crane shots, allowed Hitchcock to shoot long 10 minute takes, something he would push to the limit on his next two films, Rope (1948) and Under Capricorn (1949).

The completed film cost an estimated $4,258,000 to make, almost as expensive as Gone with the Wind. Selznick maintained close supervision on the production, and interfered with Hitchcock's normally carefully budgeted process by insisting on extensive re-takes. When Hitchcock insisted on receiving his contractual $1000/day fee, Selznick took over post-production himself, supervising the editing and the scoring of the film.

The Paradine Case had its world premiere in Los Angeles on December 29, 1947, opening simultaneously in two theatres across the street from each other in Westwood. It then had its New York City premiere on January 8, 1948. On its initial release, the film was 132 minutes long, due to Selznick's editing of Hitchcock's rough cut, which ran almost three hours. After the film's premieres, Selznick pulled the film from distribution and re-cut it for general release, bringing it down to 114 minutes, which is currently the length of the film on DVD release. In 1980, a flood reportedly destroyed the uncut original version of the film, making a restoration of that version unlikely.

The Paradine Case was not a box office success: worldwide receipts barely covered half of the cost of production.

Almost every Hitchock film, of course, has a cameo appearance by Alfred Hitchcock. In this film, he can be seen leaving the train at Cumberland Station, carrying a cello, at about 38 minutes into the film.

Hitchcock described The Paradine Case as "...a love story embedded in the emotional quicksand of a murder trial".