This film was actually made in 1942 by Continental Films, a German-owned company set up by Nazi propaganda boss Goebbels. He wanted the studio to produce light entertainment films to keep the French population quiet during the war. When he saw this film he was outraged because he believed it was really a disguised appeal for French patriotism, so he arranged for it to be banned. That probably saved the film from disappearing altogether, because most of the films made under the Occupation were detested and banned after the war as symbols of collaboration with the Nazis. About the only film made for the studio which is respected today is the brilliant Le Corbeau by Clouzot.