Previous films about T. E. Lawrence had been planned but had not been made. In the 1940s, Alexander Korda was interested in filming "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom" with Laurence Olivier, Leslie Howard, or Robert Donat as Lawrence, but had to pull out owing to financial difficulties. David Lean had been approached to direct a 1952 version for the Rank Organisation, but the project fell through. At the same time as pre-production of the film, Terence Rattigan was developing his play "Ross" which centred primarily on Lawrence's alleged homosexuality. "Ross" had begun as a screenplay, but was re-written for the stage when the film project fell through. Sam Spiegel grew furious and attempted to have the play suppressed, which helped to gain publicity for the film. Dirk Bogarde had accepted the role in "Ross"; he described the cancellation of the project as "my bitterest disappointment". Alec Guinness played the role on stage.