Raft was offered a part opposite the studio's biggest male star, Gary Cooper, in "Souls at Sea" (1937) directed by Henry Hathaway. Raft originally turned it down as his character was a coward and he left Paramount and his $4000 a week contract in November 1936. (The contract still had two years to go but Zukor of Paramount agreed to let him go). Sam Goldwyn wanted Raft for the film version of "Dead End" and Universal, David O. Selznick and 20th Century Fox were keen on using Raft; Lloyd Nolan was announced as Raft's replacement in "Souls at Sea". Raft was discussing a three-film-a-year deal with United Artists for three years, to start with "Dead End".