Welles adapted Booth Tarkington's Pulitzer Prize–winning 1918 novel, about the declining fortunes of a wealthy Midwestern family and the social changes brought by the automobile age.
Welles mengadaptasi novel tahun 1918 pemenang Penghargaan Pulitzer karya Booth Tarkington tentang kekayaan keluarga Midwestern dan perubahan sosial yang dibawa oleh zaman kendaraan bermesin.