Although Pathé Rural was a well-established format in France, by the early 1930s audiences were coming to expect films with sound. Pathé released a sound projector in 1933. As with 16 mm sound-on-film, one row of perforations was eliminated to make room for the soundtrack. In 1937, however, Pathé bowed to the inevitable and began to adopt the 16 mm standard.

Vertige d'un Soir, also called La Peur, is a melodrama about infidelity and blackmail. Charles Vanel, the male love interest, was a very successful French actor who had a long career of 76 years during which he appeared in over 200 films, including Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief.