sentences: "Despite the readers's misgivings, RKO supervising producer Pandro S. Berman greenlighted the project and budgeted it at $400,000.Berman negotiated with Universal Pictures for the loan of Bette Davis, whose contract with the studio just had been renewed following her completion of "Waterloo Bridge", and Carl Laemmle, Jr. agreed to loan her out for a fee of $300 per week.