Sir Laurence Olivier accepted the part of George Hurstwood in order to be in Hollywood at the same time that his emotionally troubled wife Vivien Leigh was making Un tramway nommé désir (1951), so that he could look after her.
Though based on Theodore Dreiser's novel "Sister Carrie", the movie was released simply as "Carrie" because the studio feared audiences would think "Sister Carrie" was the story of a nun.
Wearing Edith Head's heavily-corseted, turn-of-the-century costumes is believed to have been a factor in Jennifer Jones suffering a miscarriage in December, 1950. Afraid of losing the role, Jones originally kept the news of her pregnancy from director William Wyler, the studio, and the press; however, in August, 1950, the news was leaked to Louella Parsons, who then reported it.
In 1937 Warner Brothers owned the movie rights to Theodore Dreiser's "Sister Carrie", but Joseph Breen at the Hays Office prohibited the studio from producing a faithful version of the novel. A copy of the letter is available on the University of Pennsylvania's website.
William Wyler flirted with rewriting to make Carrie younger and considered casting Cloris Leachman in the role.