One of two theatrical film collaborations of actress Susannah York and director Christopher Miles. The other was 'That Lucky Touch' (1975). Both debuted in the same year of 1975.
Jean Genet's play (from which this film was based) was inspired by the true-crime case of Christine and Léa Papin, two sisters and domestic workers who horrifically murdered their employer in Le Mans, France in 1933.
In the recently released Kino DVD/Bluray of 'The Maids' in 2018 there is a half-hour interview with the director Christopher Miles
talking about Jean Genet and the shooting of the film, and why it was achieved in 12 days using only one camera.