After the controversial failure of his short Zéro de conduite: Jeunes diables au collège (1933), it was crucial for Jean Vigo to secure a well-known actor for his debut feature. Michel Simon was approached with the script, and when he asked what Vigo had previously done, he was told, "A film banned by the censors." Simon exclaimed, "Oh, Bravo!" and immediately agreed to the project.
Amongst the changes that Jean Vigo made to the original script was replacing Père Jules' pet dog with over 10 alley cats supplied by the SPCA. Vigo's father had been fond of such cats and Vigo's childhood homes were often overrun with stray cats. During the scenes where Père Jules plays his phonograph, the cats would become immediately fascinated by the phonograph and surround it whenever it played music. Vigo quickly assembled his crew and shot footage of the cats listening to the music and sleeping inside the loud speaker. Michel Simon ("Le père Jules") later adopted the kitten that nestled inside the speaker horn of the "magic" phonograph.
The film has appeared several times in the Sight & Sound critics' poll, including at 34th place in 2022.
In 2012 it was voted the 12th greatest film of all time, while in 1962 it was voted the 10th. The highest position for the film was fifth place in the 1992 poll.
In 2012 it was voted the 12th greatest film of all time, while in 1962 it was voted the 10th. The highest position for the film was fifth place in the 1992 poll.
Seventy-seven years after Jean Vigo's death, his daughter and film critic Luce Vigo attended a screening of this film and Zéro de conduite: Jeunes diables au collège (1933) and accepted the 2011 Parajanov-Vartanov Institute Award - named after persecuted Soviet filmmakers Sergei Parajanov and Mikhail Vartanov---posthumously honoring her father, who died at 29 when she was three. Oscar®-winning actor Jon Voight presented the award and Oscar®-winning director Martin Scorsese sent a letter for the occasion with words on Vigo, Parajanov, and Vartanov, all of whom had fought against heavy censorship.