The movie was originally released as 'La Grande Frousse' in 1964. The title had been imposed by the producers. In 1972, director Jean-Pierre Mocky managed to buy the rights to the movie and released a longer cut under the title 'La Cité de l'indicible peur'. This cut was supposedly wished by original star Bourvil. It adds ten minutes of scenes between supporting characters. The 2005 DVD edition features the original opening prologue as a deleted scene. Mocky claims he was pressured by the producers to shoot this prologue.