In a flashback to Mr. Thénardier's looting of valuables from the corpses of dead soldiers at the Battle of Waterloo and inadvertent rescue of Baron Pontmercy, he was an opportunistic deserter from within Napoleon's Grande Armée rather than a thief outside the ranks who completely fabricated his military service record after the war to cover up his looting, and Mrs. Thénardier was also present at Waterloo serving as a cantinière.

Thénardier, in disguise, meets Marius and proves to him with the help of newspaper clippings that he is completely mistaken about Valjean's criminal past.

[4] One noteworthy plot change was made to accommodate the fact that the actors playing the roles of Valjean and Javert were far apart in age, rather than near contemporaries as in the novel.

[1] The New York Times described it as one of the first French "blockbusters" that appeared in response to such lengthy feature films as Around the World in 80 Days and The Ten Commandments.

"[5] It was a "quintessential Gabin role ... that of a loner, an outsider, usually a member of the lower orders who may flirt with love and happiness but knows they are not for him".