RKO had to scuttle its plan to present this film as a 1946 Christmas-season attraction when a strike at the Technicolor processing plant delayed the making of prints. The wide-release date would be moved up to January 13, 1947, with the Manhattan opening at the Palace Theatre following on January 22, 1947. Needing a black-and-white movie for its 1946 yuletide schedule, RKO chose a film destined to become a holiday perennial: Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life.
"The Hedda Hopper Show - This Is Hollywood" broadcast a 30 minute radio adaptation of the movie on March 29, 1947 with Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Maureen O'Hara reprising their film roles.