 The Ellen Glasgow novel, for which Warner Bros. paid $40,000 for the screen rights, portrayed William Fitzroy's incestuous desire for his niece Stanley as well as racist attitudes in Richmond society.Recommended by the director John Huston, the screenwriter Howard Koch believed he had to tone down these elements to satisfy the current Motion Picture Production Code.In his review of the completed film, the critic Bosley Crowther said it was "moderately faithful" to the novel and praised its portrayal of racial discrimination.