After the success of Russell's "Women in Love" (1969) in the United States, its distributor, United Artists, suggested that Russell adapt Aldous Huxley's "The Devils of Loudun" (1952), a non-fiction book concerning the alleged 17th-century possessions in Loudun, France. Russell wrote the screenplay based on Huxley's novel, as well as John Whiting's 1961 play "The Devils", which itself was based on Huxley's work. Russell said "when I first read the story, I was knocked out by it — it was just so shocking—and I wanted others to be knocked out by it, too. I felt I had to make it." Russell later said at the time he made the film: "I was a devout Catholic and very secure in my faith. I knew I wasn't making a pornographic film... although I am not a political creature, I always viewed "The Devils" as my one political film. To me it was about brainwashing, about the state taking over." Though Russell admired Whiting's play, he mainly drew from Huxley's book as he found the play "too sentimental."