Trivia / Hold-up

• Awesome, Dear Boy: Jean-Paul Belmondo previously dreamt of playing a clown.
• The Cast Showoff: Guy Marchand (Georges) was a clarinet player, and showed his talent when the gang celebrates their successful heist. He would make the instrument practice part of Nestor Burma's character in the eponymous series starting in 1991.
• Fake Nationality: French actors Jean-Pierre Marielle and Jacques Villeret as Canadians (Québécois).
• Follow the Leader: Due to the popularity of the action/comedy films of Terence Hill and Bud Spencer at the time, the character of Lasky was made into an Expy of Spencer.
• International Coproduction: The film is a French and Canadian co-production.
• No Stunt Double: Once again, Belmondo did the stunts himself.
• On-Set Injury: The Rémy Julienne-supervised stunt with the tow truck and the mound of salt didn't go well and Jean-Paul Belmondo (who usually did most of the stunt work himself up to this point) hit his head against the truck's pulley, necessitating 11 stitches (the shot was kept in the film). Belmondo greatly reduced his film input afterwards as a result, preferring to focus on stage work.
• Troubled Production:
  • The film's first producer, Gérard Lebovici, was murdered in his car on March 5, 1984, which significantly delayed the filming. The killer was never found.
  • Filming too 22 weeks instead of the scheduled 10 weeks.
  • The above-mentioned On-Set Injury Belmondo sustained.
  • A real cop of Montreal who wasn't warned that a filming was happening caused an accident when he chased cars that were used for the film.
  • Jacques Villeret (the taxi driver) was drunk most of the time on set, and his scenes took a long time to film as a result, particularly when he had to drive cars.
• What Could Have Been: Director Alexandre Arcady wanted his Grand Pardon films' star Roger Hanin to play the commissioner, as he found out that a police commissioner of Montreal at the time had Jewish Moroccan roots like himself and Hanin. The producers refused and wanted someone "more traditional" and Jean-Pierre Marielle (a friend of Jean-Paul Belmondo) was cast instead.
• Writing by the Seat of Your Pants: Francis Veber was brought in mid-filming to completely rewrite and punch up the Bank Robbery scenes.

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