The 1870 novel was already in its 24th edition when it was adapted to film, which changed the setting from the 19th-century civil war between monarchic factions to present-day class division and jealousy.
The music composed by Armando Leça to be played at the premiere theater houses with the movie, survived for 100 years. It was played live at a memorable World Day for Audiovisual Heritage--anticipated to October 26, 2019 at Cinemateca Portuguesa's main theater, full to (over) capacity, in Lisbon. The manuscript score was transcribed and adapted by music researchers Manuel Deniz Silva and Bárbara Carvalho and played by a sextet from the Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa: José Pereira and Joana Dias (violins), Joana Nunes (viola), Catarina Gonçalves (cello), Vladimir Kouznetsov (tuba), and Francisco Sassetti (piano).