The role of Blaze was written with Bourvil in mind, which would have marked Gérard Oury's fourth collaboration with the actor, and his third time pairing him alongside Louis de Funès, after The Sucker (1965) and Don't Look Now... We're Being Shot At! (1966). After Bourvil passed away from cancer in September 1970, Oury and co-writer Danièle Thompson were at a party talking to actress Simone Signoret, who suggested her husband Yves Montand take on the role, which was completely rewritten. Oury compared the two takes on the character to valets made famous in plays by Molière, with Bourvil's being a "Sganarelle" and Montand's a "Scapin".
The screenplay is a parody of the play 'Ruy Blas' by Victor Hugo. That author is thanked in the opening credits. Director/co-writer Gérard Oury acted in that play at the Comédie-Française .
The costumes are partly inspired by the painting Las Meninas by Diego Velasquez.