I heard they ran out of money and couldn't complete the movie. APA stepped in as a sponsor and saved the money. I don't recall if Jeannette Lee was originally attached to this project. If it looks like an APA commercial its because the APA put money in to help the film get completed.
After the movie came out, I know people who were too cheap to pay the $10 APA was asking, and wanted me to make copies for them. :-(