the female lead, and having met the producers' requirement that she lose 25 pounds before filming, Dagmar Lassander was incensed when she saw that the revised script sidelined her character in favor of Betti. This, along with the fact that she was Caño's lover at the time and a language barrier due to her only speaking German and some English, led to her having antagonistic relations with Bava and Betti on set; she later successfully sued Caño for failing in his promise to make her the film's top-billed actress. At least one scene, in which John introduces Helen to Inspector Russell, was added solely to appease Lassander by giving her more screen time. Lead actor Stephen Forsyth recalled that Bava did not give him detailed direction on set. When he approached Bava privately, he revealed that Bava "smiled and he said, 'Listen, if you were doing anything wrong, if there was anything I had to tell you, I would tell you.'" Hatchet for the Honeymoon had the least money allotted for special effects of any film directed by Bava, so nearly all of the visual effects were achieved in-camera, usually by rapidly adjusting the focus, or shooting through distorted lenses. Principal photography took place from September to October 1968 primarily in Barcelona, under the working title Un'accetta per la luna di miele (literally "A hatchet for the honeymoon"). The villa of Francisco Franco served as the Harrington household. The cast and director both described the villa's atmosphere as oppressive, with armed guards constantly present to ensure they did not shoot on the upstairs floors or damage the furnishings. The discothèque scenes were filmed at Balcazar Studios, also in Barcelona, before the crew moved on to the Villa Frascatti in Rome in order to shoot the scenes at the Harrington household which the restrictions at the Franco villa would not allow them to capture. These include all the scenes in the bathroom, bedroom, and mannequin-filled room. Caño decided to set the story in Paris, so a second unit led by Bava's assistant director and son Lamberto was sent there to capture some exterior scenes. By this time, the film's budget had run out, and Forsyth had been working without pay for two weeks. He accompanied the crew to Paris, but refused to take part in the shoot until he was paid. As such, he was replaced by a body double for