Trivia / Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing

• Creator Backlash: The real life Han Suyin, who wrote the novel the film was based on, stated in her autobiography My House Has Two Doors that she had no interest in ever watching the film, not even when it ran for several months in Singapore, where she lived. Her motive in selling the film rights was to pay for an operation in England for her adopted daughter who was suffering from tuberculosis.
• Fake Mixed Race: The Eurasian (mixed Asian and European ancestry) Han Suyin is played by Caucasian Jennifer Jones.
• Fake Nationality: Chinese Han Suyin is played by American Jennifer Jones.
• Hostility on the Set: According to William Holden's biography, he and Jennifer Jones could barely stand each other on set. Holden was turned off by Jones' obsessive complaints about her makeup (which she said made her "look old"), about her costumes and about her dialogue. Soon they were barely speaking to one another. Their relationship was also not helped by Jones' worries about Holden's reputation as a womanizer. Holden claimed she chewed garlic before her love scenes, which she may have done to discourage him. Once, Holden tried to make peace, offering Jones a bouquet of white roses, which she tossed back in his face.
• Writing by the Seat of Your Pants: Two weeks of location filming in Hong Kong were completed before the final screenplay had been finished by screenwriter John Patrick. He then had to adapt the screenplay to include as many of the shots as possible. However, the film was completed on time, within the planned three months schedule.

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