While writing the screenplay, It was decided to cast the role of Temple's brother to the much younger Johnny Russell, as Zanuck felt that in casting a boy of a similar age to Temple he would have to be mentally incompetent to allow a girl to take leadership away from him and Zanuck decided to drop some of the characters in the original story such as Bread, Water, Fire, Milk, Sugar, and Night, as he wanted the story more focused on her as the star of the movie. The tension between the Temples and Zanuck reached a boiling point during the writing stage, as Temple's mother objected first to Temple's characterization as too nice, and then had concerns about the script not being focused enough on Temple. Things came to a head when Zanuck threatened suspension. After consulting their lawyer, the Temples decided to go forward with the movie as planned.