"Biche" is not only French for "doe," it is also slang for "girl" or "young woman" (just like British "bird" or American "chick" or "fox") - so the title is ambiguous: it could be taken as "The Girls," or it could very literally refer to the pictures of female deer (one of which is portrayed with another doe inside its womb) that Why draws and, in one case, keeps in her bedroom. In French the word "lesbiche" is slang for lesbian, its plural being "lesbiches".
Jean-Louis Trintignant stated that he was a bit embarrassed when he had to film his erotic scenes with ex-wife Stéphane Audran in the film, right under the eyes of Stéphane's new husband, Claude Chabrol.
Claude Chabrol said later the film marked a creative turning point for him. "With the films since Les Biches (1968) I think I'm finally on the right track," he said. "I knew I was interested in murder but what I didn't realize is that my interest isn't in solving puzzles. I want to study the human behavior of people involved in murder."
Claude Chabrol later admitted he included the lesbian plot in order to help the film at the box office.
Claude Chabrol talked about the story: "It is about the equilibrium of such a relationship, when someone else intervenes about the bargains that people make with each other. And about the rich, the advantage that they have over the poor, their richness. They can buy people, and the poor have to submit, until they revolt, and the only possible revolt is destruction. It is from a Marxist point of view but it is not political at all. I'm sure you cannot make a revolution with a camera. But you can show up all the people and things you dislike."