 Before agreeing to do the "Sweet Thursday" project, the duo had considered other projects for their next work together, such as an adaptation of the film "Saratoga Trunk".A proposal made by attorney David Merrick to adapt a series of works by Marcel Pagnol to which Merrick held the stage rights fell through when the duo were not willing to have Merrick be an associate producer; Merrick took the project elsewhere, and it was developed into the hit "Fanny".Afterwards, Hammerstein stated, "Why the hell did we give up "Fanny"?