M-G-M Studios bought the rights to film "Madame Curie" with Greta Garbo in mind, but Garbo left the studio in 1941 and the world was plunged into the grips of World War II. The studio now worried that wartime audiences would find this story rather drab. But the casting of the magical screen team of Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon guaranteed its success. Both Garson and Pidgeon received Academy Award nominations for their performances.