Fassbinder's line "Und Bruno ist mein Freund" ("and Bruno is a friend of mine") is a reference to G. M. Volonté's "and Niño is a friend of mine". Fassbinder and his co-star Ulli Lommel saw Damiani's film prior to shooting "Liebe ist kälter als der Tod". Fassbinder even dedicated the film to its protagonists "Linio und Cuncho" (misspelled in the original).