Besides starring in this made-for-TV remake of the original Splendor in the Grass (1961), Melissa Gilbert has another connection with the original film. She and an actress in the original, Marla Adams, appeared together as daughter and mother, respectively, in Rocky/Julie's Dilemma/Who's Who? (1978).
The second screen version of a William Inge play to co-star Eva Marie Saint who had played the younger female lead in All Fall Down (1962).