Brenda Vaccaro had originally been cast in the film but had to withdraw from the role because of a delay in production on the picture La Grande Zorro (1981). This was reported in the 10th December 1980 and 7th January 1981 editions of show-business trade-paper 'Daily Variety'.
Proportionately, this movie spent more on its costumes than any other. From a production budget of seven million dollars, over one million dollars of that went on costumes.
Karen Black replaced Jeanne Moreau in the role of Emilienne d'Alençon. Reportedly, the latter "collapsed from pneumonia" just prior to principal photography according to the 12th November 1980 issue of show-business trade-paper 'The Hollywood Reporter'. Initially, the intention was to wait for Moreau to recover and shoot around her scenes and film other sequences but by mid-late November 1980 it was announced that Black would be replacing her.