Editing The Hasty Heart (section)

==Production==
Warner Bros. bought the film rights to the play from American dramatist [[John Patrick (dramatist)|John Patrick]] for $100,000 and a percentage of the profits in 1945. It originally announced [[John Dall]] would play the lead of Lachie.<ref>{{cite news|title=Screen News: Warners Pay $100,000 Down for 'Hasty Heart' Joan Blondell Gets Top Part|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1945/02/19/archives/screen-news-warners-pay-100000-down-for-hasty-heart-joan-blondell.html|work=The New York Times|date=February 19, 1945|page=21}}</ref> 

According to Vincent Sherman, the studio were hesitant to film the play, as they were worried the public was tired of war stories, but Sherman liked the play. When Warner Bros. asked the director to make ''[[Backfire (1950 film)|Backfire]]'' (completed in 1948, though not released until 1950), he agreed on condition that the studio would also let him direct ''The Hasty Heart''. Warners agreed, deciding to make the film in London with [[Associated British]], a company it partly owned. The studio would provide Sherman and two American stars, Patricia Neal and Ronald Reagan, but was open to the part of Lachie being played by a newcomer.<ref>{{cite book|title= Studio Affairs: my life as a film director|last=Sherman|first=Vincent |year=1996|page=176}}</ref>

[[Gordon Jackson (actor)|Gordon Jackson]] tested for the part of Lachie, but the studio wanted someone who was more of a leading man to play the role. Richard Todd, who was under contract to Associated British, was cast, instead, after a successful screen test.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/richard-todd-dday-veteran-and-actor-celebrated-for-his-role-as-guy-gibson-in-the-dam-busters-1834671.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/richard-todd-dday-veteran-and-actor-celebrated-for-his-role-as-guy-gibson-in-the-dam-busters-1834671.html |archive-date=18 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=The Independent |first=Tom |last=Vallance |date=5 December 2009 |location=London |title=Richard Todd: D-Day veteran and actor celebrated for his role as Guy Gibson in 'The Dam Busters'}}</ref> Sherman said Reagan hoped to play the role of Lachie and was unhappy to be assigned the part of Yank; he claims the actor was professional during the film, but disliked it after Sherman tried to get Reagan to improve his acting in a scene.<ref>Sherman, pp. 18–185.</ref>

"I wasn't right at all for the nurse", said Patricia Neal. "But it was my first sympathetic part, at least."<ref>{{Cite news|last=Thompson|first=Howard|title=Portrait of the Lady Named Neal|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1952/11/02/archives/portrait-of-the-lady-named-neal.html|date=November 2, 1952|work=The New York Times|page=X5}}</ref>