On April 25, 1975, production of this movie was announced with much fanfare in Variety, under its original title
The Shrine Of Lorna Love (with the intention of it being one of ABC's Big-Event movies of the upcoming '75-'76 season):
Not only was it a big deal because of the casting of "Classic Hollywood" stars like Sylvia Sydney and Dorothy Lamour, but because it was being shot at the Harold Lloyd estate in Beverly Hills just before all of its mementos and furnishings were to be auctioned off due to the estate's huge financial problems. Though, as is often the case, the finished product didn't quite turn out the way ABC had hoped it would, and the movie was shelved. It didn't actually air until what back then was the throwaway slot of the first Friday in September '76 - and then only because Kate Jackson was in it and there was huge hype surrounding the upcoming premiere of
Charlie's Angels. And while many reviews were certainly less than flattering (citing "illogic of action" and "dreary cliches of awkward dialogue"), interestingly, several others were actually quite favorable (complimenting both Jackson and Wagner's performances in "a good old-fashioned Hollywood whodunnit").
And I totally agree that some of the similarities between this film and NoDS are striking.