Jean Gabin refused the role that eventually went to Charles Vanel because he didn't think his fans would pay to see him play a "coward".
Yves Montand and Charles Vanel both contracted conjunctivitis after filming in a pool of crude oil and being exposed to gas fumes.
Yves Montand's first dramatic role.
Henri-Georges Clouzot originally planned on shooting the film in Spain, but Yves Montand and his wife, Simone Signoret, refused to work in Spain as long as fascist dictator Francisco Franco was in power. Filming took place instead in the south of France, near Saint-Gilles, in the Camargue. The village seen in the film was built from scratch.
Accusations of anti-Americanism led to the US censor cutting several key scenes from the film.
Filming began on 27 August 1951 and was scheduled to run for nine weeks. Numerous problems plagued the production, however. The south of France had an unusually rainy season that year, causing vehicles to bog down, cranes to fall over and sets to be ruined. Director Henri-Georges Clouzot broke his ankle. Véra Clouzot fell ill. The production was 50 million francs over budget. By the end of November, only half the film was completed. With the days growing short from winter, production shut down for six months. The second half of the film was finally completed in the summer of 1952.
This film was spoofed by Spike Milligan in a Goon Show episode entitled "Fear Of Wages".
This was the first film to win both the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival and the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.
Visa d'exploitation en France #11794.