This film was shot while the Nazis were occupying France. Its director faced a number of difficulties in making it. It premiered on December 4, 1942. It was one of the biggest film events during the war. It was called "the grandest film of the Occupation." One of the reasons that the film was such a huge success was the rumor that the film was an allegory. Many people saw the character of the Devil as representing Hitler and the continued beating hearts of the lovers as representing France living under German rule. Until his death in 1996 the director, Marcel Carné, denied any intended hidden messages.
Was the most popular film of the entire occupation period in France.
André Bazin called it "a revolutionary event."
Prologue: "...or so, in the lovely months of May, 1485, the devil sent two of his envoys to this world to drive humans to despair..."
The portrait of le baron Hugues' wife is a copy of portraits of Jane Seymour (the third wife of Henry VIII.) The face has been modified to more closely fit with 20th century standards of beauty. The original portrait would not be painted until 51 years later than the events of the movie, which is identified as 1485 at the start.
Despite the anachronistic and very English clothing, Seymour is a good symbolic choice for the lost wife of a man still in mourning, as she was the only one of Henry's wives that he continued to mourn for.