The film was directed by Pierre De Moro, and starred Bridgette Andersen as the title character, with Mark Miller and Donovan Scott as the two vagabonds who befriend her.

At the park Savannah slips away and sneaks into the back seat of the car of Alvin "Alvie" Gibbs and Boots "Bootsie" McGaffee, two escaped, down-on-their-luck convicts.

Alvie and Boots believe their luck has finally come in, but wonder how they could return Savannah and collect the reward without drawing attention to themselves and being sent back to prison.

Her unruly curly blonde hair and smiling face struck Miller as so appealing that he came to believe he could make a successful movie around that alone.

[4] He had to build a story for the little girl, and borrowed from the 1937 French movie La Grande Illusion, where an escaped hardened prisoner hides out in the home of a young widow, and is softened by the kindness of her daughter.

[4] He asked Donovan Scott to play the role of Boots McGaffey, Alvie's friend, and relied upon him for the slapstick comedy that he used to lighten the story.

The film was shot on location in Salt Lake City, Provo Canyon,[6] and in the mountain country to the southeast near Sundance in Utah.

[8] Short on funds to promote the movie, Miller teamed with Eunice Shriver of Special Olympics, a charity he supported.

Miller committed the gross revenue from the opening weekend of the film to the Special Olympics for their aid in promoting the release.

After a short theater run, the movie received extensive play on cable television, and was featured on such channels as HBO.