Filming began in 1946, but the production was plagued with problems. At least five directors worked on it, some leaving when they were either fired or quit because of producer Howard Hughes' constant interference, others being hired only to shoot retakes or small bits of new footage. The film was finally released in 1950 after costs had ballooned to more than $4 million - a staggering sum at the time for a picture that wasn't an epic and had no big stars - and was a major critical and box-office disaster.