This film is generally credited with making St. Tropez a fashionable resort.
Brigitte Bardot was married to this film's writer and director Roger Vadim; they separated during production over her affair with co-star Jean-Louis Trintignant but would not officially divorce until late 1957.
The film was condemned by the Catholic Church's Legion of Decency within months after the Baby Doll (1956) boycott and caused a huge uproar in the United States for its sexual content.
Although Brigitte Bardot had made several films previously, this is the picture considered to have made her an international movie star and sex symbol.