This is why many fans are of the opinion that DS was often successful in spite of DC. There are several instances where the writers or producer Robert Costello did things while DC was away that DC was not happy about - one chief thing being not making Barnabas an all-out evil villain by also giving him a sympathetic side. If Barnabas had not had that sympathetic side, would he even be remembered today? Probably not, or perhaps simply as a footnote.
I seem to recall reading that she had to be persuaded to do the role because she'd pretty much given up acting and was concentrating on the producing side of things. But I'm pretty sure I've also read that DC wanted her for Julia from the outset. So we definitely owe DC thanks for getting her to play Julia.
What a hoot - I love it! But then I suspect that's probably no surprise because it's also no surprise here that thanks to the Dspp/DS film, I've become a big fan of HBC.
And there's certainly one good thing about her confessing the situation. It explains away why she ignored all her dreams: she just marries ALL her boyfriends, regardless.