Marsha Hunt was offered the same role in the original Broadway production but turned it down. The part ultimately went to Leora Dana, who met and married Kurt Kasznar during the run of the play.
Kurt Kasznar originally wanted too much money and was replaced by Zero Mostel. However, Columbia head Harry Cohn was adamant that anyone being investigated by the HUAC would not work at his studio, and so Kasznar was re-hired.
Harry Cohn, Columbia's president, forced Richard Fleischer to write a letter in which he said that he was not a communist. If he refused, he wouldn't make the film.
"The Happy Time" became a musical with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and a book by N. Richard Nash loosely based on the 1950 hit Broadway play, "The Happy Time" by Samuel A. Taylor, which was in turn based on stories by Robert Fontaine. The original 1967 Los Angeles and 1968 Broadway productions were directed and choreographed by Gower Champion, who won Tony Awards in each category. It starred David Wayne and Robert Goulet, who won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical.
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