Preminger began his Hollywood career with a minor hit that looked from the start like a losing proposition. "I have this son-of-a-bitch here who made one film and it flopped," Darryl Zanuck moaned to him, "I paid him a lot of money and I don't want to lose any more."

The SOB in question was the singer Lawrence Tibbett, who was under contract for $200,000 to make two films. Zanuck was trying to cancel him, but the singer refused to leave without making his second feature.

Preminger came up with what they used to call a "socko idea". A trip to the stock footage library and the problem was solved: as Tibbett sings his heart out on the top of that hill, a little frog looks up, quivering in rapture at his beautiful melody… Andrew Horn