 Filming began on 27 August 1951 and was scheduled to run for nine  weeks. Numerous problems plagued the production, however. The south  of France had an unusually rainy season that year, causing vehicles  to bog down, cranes to fall over and sets to be ruined. The director  broke his ankle. Vera Clouzot fell ill. The production was 50  million francs over budget. By the end of November, only half the  film was completed. With the days growing short from winter,  production shut down for six months. The second half of the film was  finally completed in the summer of 1952.