Having written the play on which this movie was based and then the script for the movie, Noël Coward asked to see the early rushes. Believing that Sir Michael Redgrave was miscast in the leading role, Nöel spoke to J. Arthur Rank and persuaded him to let him take over the part, then went and spoke to Michael, who agreed to relinquish the role.
The great success of Brief Encounter (1945) encouraged Noël Coward to consider another movie adaptation of one of his plays. This, however, did not do anywhere nearly the same business as Brief Encounter (1945), and was critically derided.