Writer/Director Claude Lelouch first heard of Victor Hugo's classic novel in 1943 when, travelling by train with his mother to flee German Occupied France to Vichy France, she bribed a ticket inspector who noticed her papers were fake with her watch and her engagement ring. She called him a "Thénardier" after he left the compartment, and Claude having not heard of the character before, she proceeded to recount the novel's story to him during that night.