Rumpole of the Bailey interest in nineteenth-century anarchists, especially the Russian Peter Kropotkin from whom the title of the play was drawn. The character's name was later changed to Horace Rumpole when it was discovered that there was a real barrister called Horace Rumbold. The title of the play was briefly changed to "Jolly Old Jean Jacques Rousseau" before settling on the less esoteric "Rumpole of the Bailey". Mortimer was keen on Michael Hordern for the role of Rumpole. When Hordern proved unavailable, the part went to Australian-born actor Leo McKern. Mortimer was initially unenthusiastic about McKern's casting but changed his opinion upon seeing
A Son Is Born was a 22-year-old radio actor who later moved to England and married Leo McKern. Kitty Bluett was a musical comedy star, the daughter of comedian Fred Bluett. The film was shot in the Supreme Sound System studio in early 1945. Filming was scheduled to allow the actors to take radio and stage jobs, and sometimes would start at midnight. War footage shot by Damien Parer is used in the New Guinea sequences. The movie was shot prior to "Smithy" (1946), also starring Randell and Steinbeck, but its release was held off until after that bigger budget movie to take advantage