When Sir Alfred Hitchcock delivered the completed movie to the studio, after a Hitchcock record of ninety-two days of filming, it ran almost three hours. This rough cut was initially trimmed to two hours and twelve minutes, which was the version screened for the Academy of Arts & Sciences. In this version, Ethel Barrymore can be seen as the half-crazed wife of Lord Horfield, which explains the Oscar nomination for her performance (there was apparently a brilliant museum scene where Lady Horfield requests Anthony Keane to save Mrs. Paradine, and another scene where Lady Horfield tries to hide her coughing from her husband). Producer David O. Selznick subsequently cut the film to two hours and five minutes, and then to its present length of one hour and fifty-four minutes, in which Barrymore's screen time totals about three minutes. In 1980, a flood reputedly destroyed the original, uncut version, making the restoration of the cut scenes unlikely, although it has been reported that some of these cut scenes reside at the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York.
While Sir Alfred Hitchcock liked the actors and actresses, he felt that Gregory Peck, Alida Valli, and Louis Jourdan were unsuited to their roles. Producer David O. Selznick asserted his power as studio head to insist that Hitchcock use them.
Sir Alfred Hitchcock wanted to cast Ingrid Bergman as the woman on trial for killing her husband, the part that eventually went to Alida Valli. Bergman didn't want to do another movie for producer David O. Selznick.
Although this movie was a box-office failure, many critics praised the performances by Ann Todd and Joan Tetzel. Time Magazine (January 12, 1948 issue) said, "The only characters who come sharply to life are the barrister's wife (Ann Todd) and her confidante (Joan Tetzel)." Variety said, "Ann Todd delights as his wife, giving the assignment a grace and understanding that tug at the emotions."