much to the "immense satisfaction of the studio", john ford was signed on as the director as early as march 1940. on production, he commented in a december 1940 interview: "we have no dirt in the picture. we've eliminated the horrible details and what we've got left is a nice dramatic story. it's a tear-jerker, with some comedy relief. what we're aiming at is to have the customers sympathize with our people and not feel disgusted." the decision was most likely a result of a november 1940 warning that "many religious folk throughout the nation may be offended by the religious aspects."