In September 1952 the rights for "Gardenia" were sold to independent producer Alex Gottlieb with the film henceforth referred to as "The Blue Gardenia": despite reports of the female lead role being assigned to Darnell and also to the little-known Vicky Lane, Anne Baxter was announced for the role in November - "The Blue Gardenia" being considered the second of Baxter's two-picture pact with Warner Bros. as that studio signed to distribute the film - with the film's two other top-billed stars announced the same month. Being cast as the film's second female lead would afford Ann Sothern her first cinematic role since being dropped by Metro Goldwyn Mayer in 1950 due to her health issues. Prior to filming "The Blue Gardenia", Sothern had signed with CBS to star in the sitcom "Private Secretary", filming the first episodes in the latter half of December 1952 immediately after her eight days of filming on "The Blue Gardenia": Sothern's focus would remain focused on television roles with occasional cinematic forays, her next cinematic credit subsequent to "The Blue Gardenia" being the 1964 film "The Best Man". The last of the film's stars to be announced was male lead Richard Conte, who had previously starred for Alex Gottlieb Productions in "The Fighter": Fritz Lang, hired by Gottlieb to direct "The Blue Gardenia", had hoped to cast Dana Andrews, established as the top actor of the "film noir" genre, but Andrews had recently begun a sabbatical from film work.