The screenplay by Anne Froelick and James Gunn was based upon the Pulitzer Prize-winning 1925 play Craig's Wife, by George Kelly.

Harriet Craig is the second of three cinematic collaborations between Sherman and Crawford, the others being The Damned Don't Cry (1950) and Goodbye, My Fancy (1951).

When Clare falls in love with Walter's co-worker, Wes Miller, Harriet puts an end to the romance with lies.

When it appears Walter will receive a coveted work assignment that will require him to travel abroad without her, she sabotages the plans with treacherous lies to his boss.

As a reaction to this, and to the realization of what his life with Harriet has become, he symbolically throws off her control: he drinks straight liquor, makes himself comfortable on the pristine sofa and, when she refuses to come downstairs to discuss their situation, he intentionally smashes Harriet's most beloved household possession – a valuable Ming vase that symbolizes her control and obsession with perfection.

Otis Guernsey of the New York Herald Tribune wrote: "[Crawford] remains, as always, a stylish performer in her clear and forceful characterization.