The song "Dominique" that plays constantly in the common room was not chosen at random. Jeanine Deckers - also known as Soeur Sourire or "The Singing Nun" had recorded the song to raise money for her convent's mission in Brussels. She eventually left the order to be with her lover, a novice nun eleven years younger than herself. When the two took their own lives together in 1985 she was deeply in debt for the taxes owed on the over $100,000 in royalties the iconic song earned. Money she never saw a cent of, as all profits continued to go to the Catholic church.
The score for the movie Carrie (1976) can be heard when Lana (Sarah Paulson) first arrives at Briarcliff.
The episode won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special.
The old Orange County Courthouse (exterior shots of the front of "Briarcliff") was used in another movie starring Jessica Lange. The biopic, "Frances" (1982) , explores the (partially true) life story of Frances Farmer, a Seattle-born, groundbreaking actress of the 1930's & 1940's,who gained notoriety for her unconventional behavior, the sensationalized accounts of her life and, in particular, her multiple psychiatric hospital admissions. In "Frances", near the beginning of the movie, a newsreel is shown. Unfortunately, the only part of the building visible in the newsreel are the arches, however, they are extremely recognizable.