The argot slang that the novel was written in was incomprehensible to writer/director Jules Dassin, so much so that he had to have his agent who suggested it, read it to him. The producer initially refused because he had been courting a woman for some time and had "plans" that night. Dassin told him that he'd lost his woman and that he had to come over and read it to him (which he did). When he finally understood the story he claims that he was "shocked" by its content (the story involves necrophilia, among other things) and was prepared to tell producer Henri Bérard that he didn't want to do the film. What changed his mind was his blacklist-induced poverty. He then cut Auguste Le Breton's novel down to a story of a heist (which was only a small element of the actual story). Le Breton was infuriated and came to Dassin and asked, "Where is my book?". Dassin explained the situation to him, but Le Breton ignored him and simply repeated, "Where is my book?" until eventually drawing a pistol and placing it on the table as a threat. Dassin claims that the threat of violence over such a matter and the appearance of Le Breton was so ridiculous that he simply broke out with laughter. Le Breton then laughed and the two got along fine, despite the disagreement.

Film

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