 The film was then distributed world-wide with only a modest return and lukewarm critical reaction.Profits from the sale of the film were used to construct a kindergarten through eighth grade school for 450 children in Southhaven, Mississippi, located 10 miles from the Sacred Heart League headquarters in Walls.In 2001, a musical adaptation of the film with a brighter ending, written by Fred Alley and James Valcq premiered at George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, NJ, directed by David Saint and then moved to Playwrights Horizons Theater in New York.