 It was directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who also wrote the screenplay.The film is based on the 1950 Broadway musical by composer and lyricist Frank Loesser, with a book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, which, in turn, was loosely based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", two short stories by Damon Runyon.Dances were choreographed by Michael Kidd, who had also staged the dances for the Broadway production.