When the film was screened in the United States, some so-called "anti-American" scenes were cut, including a passage in the film where the American boss explained the reasons for hiring homeless people as truck drivers, portraying American capitalists as big villains.
Jean Gaben rejected the role eventually played by Charles Vanel because he thought that movie fans would not like him to play a "coward".
After filming the scene of rolling in the crude oil, Mengdang and Wen En contracted conjunctivitis.
Mario is Yves Montand's first dramatic role.
The film is the first film to win the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival at the same time.
Shooting of the film started on August 27, 1951. It was originally expected to be finished in 9 weeks, but a series of troubles and difficulties caused the film to be delayed until the end of November 1951 and only half of the filming task was completed.
Due to the weather, the director Cruzo broke his ankle, and as the winter approached, the daytime became shorter, so the film had to be stopped for 6 months, and the filming was finally completed in the summer of 1952.
Due to the lengthening of the filming cycle, the film’s budget exceeded 50 million francs.
The director originally planned to shoot the film in Spain, but was opposed by Yves Montand and his wife because the Spanish dictator Franco had not stepped down. In the end, the shooting location was changed to a small town in southern France, and the village in the film was built according to sketches.
