The production was plagued with problems. Severe flooding happened in Spain during the filming. In addition, the director Roger Vadim, and actors Stephen Boyd and Brigitte Bardot all fell ill during the making of the movie. Stephen Boyd initially questioned whether he would work with Bardot again publicly (ironically he would work with Bardot again in 'Shalako'), but very quickly corrected his comments. His description of Bardot was that she had 'the mind of a child, but physically she was like a panther on the prowl.' He would later clarify his remarks to indicate that he 'loved' working with her, and that she won him over. They also became friends (See Vogue Magazine Feb 1958), and had a 'inside joke/word' they shared - 'beddibize'.
In her book "Initials B.B", Brigitte Bardot says that she was deeply horrified during the filming of a bullfight by the sudden death of a young impetuous bull, after a vet injected an anesthetic dose .
Filmed in Spain, there are a number of scenes of (presumably real) bullfighting in this movie, including one of a slain bull being dragged in the street and then seemingly slaughtered for meat. Bardot would go on to become one of the foremost celebrity animal rights activists.