Though based on "The Jugger" by Richard Stark (Donald E. Westlake), the author received no compensation for this adaptation. Westlake, who passed away at the end of 2008, successfully kept the film from being shown in the US during his lifetime.
The characters are all named after filmmakers, actors, writers, and political figures. Examples: David Goodis (pulp writer), Doris Mizoguchi (named after directer Kenji Mizoguchi), Donald Siegel (director), Paul Widmark (named after actor Richard Widmark), etc.
According to the opening credits the film is dedicated to Nick (Ray) and Samuel (Fuller).
Paula Nelson (Anna Karina) is caught napping with a copy of Horace McCoy's Adieu la vie, adieu l'amour, a translation of Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1948) in the Serie Noire imprint.
Asked to describe the film, Jean-Luc Godard offhandedly said that it was a remake of "The Big Sleep" with Anna Karina in the Humphrey Bogart part.