This Gun for Hire
Paulette Goddard was originally cast as the female lead but had to drop out due to another commitment. She was replaced at first with Patricia Morison, but after seeing Lake and Ladd together in "This Gun for Hire" it was decided to replace Morison with Veronica Lake. Lake was going to be making "I Married a Witch" but that project was postponed when Joel McCrea turned down the lead role.