Hawks had little interest in remaking his own earlier movie, and only came to work on it because of the $250,000 paycheck. When speaking of the film, he said "Danny Kaye had separated from his wife, and he was a basket case, stopping work to see a psychiatrist [every] day.
Hawks showed little desire to remake his earlier film but agreed to do so because of the $250,000 compensation. In describing the movie, he noted that Danny Kaye had separated from his wife and was in a state of distress, requiring frequent visits to a psychiatrist.