After appearing in several small films, Darnell was cast in her first big-budget film in May 1940, appearing again opposite Tyrone Power in "Brigham Young" (1940), which was shot on location in mid 1940 and was regarded as the most expensive film 20th Century Fox had yet produced. Darnell and Power were cast together for the second time owing to the box office success of "Day-Time Wife", and they became a highly publicized onscreen couple, which prompted Darryl F. Zanuck to add 18 more romantic scenes to "Brigham Young". The film's director, Henry Hathaway, in later life had only slight memories of Darnell but recalled that "a sweeter girl never lived." By June 1940, shortly after completing "Brigham Young", Darnell earned "a weekly salary larger than most bank officials."