Hal Wallis purchased the rights to "A Stone For Danny Fisher" so he could make a non-musical movie starring either James Dean or Ben Gazzara. After Dean died in 1955, the project did not continue. In January 1957, following the success of an Off-Broadway stage version of the story, Presley's name was suggested as a possible replacement. The character of Fisher was changed from a boxer to a singer and the story was moved from New York to New Orleans.