MGM purchased the film rights to the novel by MacKinlay Kantor in February 1942 and production of the movie began in October 1942 with W.S. Van Dyke as director and Robert Taylor, Susan Peters, Spring Byington, Charley Grapewin, Van Johnson, Morris Ankrum and James Craig. The production was halted and finally shelved after Van Dyke became ill following 4 weeks of shooting, and when it was revived in 1944, only Ankrum and Craig remained in the cast, but in different roles.
The phonograph the Goss brothers buy for their mother is an Edison Fireside Model A.
Paul Langton, who played Annie's son Vi (Violet) Goss, became most famous for his role as Leslie Harrington on the 1960s nighttime soap opera Peyton Place (1964).
Harry Morgan, who played Annie's son Cottonwood Goss, became most famous for his roles as Colonel Potter on the TV series M*A*S*H (1972), and Officer Gannon on numerous versions of the Dragnet films and TV series.