The film was shot from around 1 April to mid-October 1930. Not a single set was built for the film. In an opinion piece in the Politiken newspaper of 6 May 1932, Ebbe Neergaard writes, "In a rural area north of Paris, he [Dreyer] rented an old chateau which also served as lodging during the shoot for the 35 cast members and technicians; it cost 3000 frcs. a week and provided 9 sets, which in a studio, figuring in construction and rent, would have cost at least 20 times as much. Moreover, for 50 frcs. a day, he rented an old watermill, which provided 5 sets, an abandoned iceworks for the same price, which supplied 7 sets, a presbytery for 500 frcs. a week – 6 sets and a village inn for 500 frcs. for two weeks – 4 sets."
Only two cast members were professional actors: Sybille Schmitz and Maurice Schutz (Schutz also acted in The Passion of Joan of Arc). The others were found "on the street" more or less by accident, mainly because they had the right look or were the right type for the role. The postproduction sound work was done at Tobis-Film in Berlin.
The film was released in three versions – French, English and German.
By Lisbeth Richter Larsen | 03. June