Butterflies Are Free (1972)

A blind man moves into his own apartment against the wishes of his overprotective mother and befriends the freethinking young woman next door.

Director:

Milton Katselas

Writers:

Leonard Gershe (screenplay), Leonard Gershe (play)

Stars:

Goldie Hawn, Edward Albert, Eileen Heckart

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 7 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Goldie Hawn	...	Jill
Edward Albert	...	Don
Eileen Heckart	...	Mrs. Baker
Paul Michael Glaser	...	Ralph (as Michael Glaser)
Michael Warren	...	Roy (as Mike Warren)

Storyline

All Don Baker wants is a place of his own away from his over-protective mother. Don's been blind since birth, but that doesn't stop him from setting up in a San Francisco apartment and making the acquaintance of his off-the-wall, liberated, actress neighbor Jill. Don learns the kind of things from Jill that his mother would never have taught him! And Jill learns from Don what growing up and being free is really all about.

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Plot Keywords:

blind man | overbearing mother | san francisco california | based on play | apartment | 

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Taglines:

Take some time to smell the flowers.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Music | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

July 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

Las mariposas son libres

Filming Locations:

1355 Grant Avenue, San Francisco, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Frankovich Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Italian censorship visa # 61471 delivered on 27-11-1972.

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Goofs

Jill and Don leave their apartment so he can show her where the laundry is - 44 steps to the right of the apartment entrance, which is at 1355 Grant Avenue. However, they arrive at the Toy Sun laundry, which was at 1521 Grand Avenue - two blocks and more than 44 steps away. Also note that they walk past Mooney's Irish Pub at 1525 Grant Avenue next door to the laundry.

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Quotes

Jill: I'm auditioning for a part in a new play with a little theatre group called The Cosmic Workshop. It's about this girl who gets all hung up when she marries a homosexual. Originally he was an alcoholic, but homosexuals are very in now in movies and books and plays, so they changed it.
[pause]
Jill: Are you homosexual?
Don: No, just blind.

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Connections

Referenced in The Outside Man (1972)

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Soundtracks

Butterflies Are Free
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (as Steve Schwartz)

User Reviews

I would love to see this story performed on stage

I enjoyed this film very much; it appeals to the romantic in all of us, yet it is very candid. Goldie Hawn is perfect for the role of Jill, she seems so at ease with the character. Eileen Heckart is wonderful as the overbearing yet caring mother. She loves her son and it is hard for her to let go of him & to stop taking care of her son, Don, especially since he is blind. She feels that he needs someone to care for him and she thinks his new neighbor and love interest Jill is not the girl to do that. Heckart won the best supporting oscar that year for the film and she was much deserving because she is excellent. The film has some very touching scenes between each of the actors as Don struggles for independence from his mother and as he fights to convince Jill that they could have a relationship despite his blindness and how his mother has scared her away. I also love that the film has been adapted from a play and you can really sense that with simple apartment setting. A interesting note is that the Leonard Gershe who wrote the play was inspired by a real life person: Harold Krentz. Gershe heard Krentz talking on a radio show about being drafted for the military during the vietnam war, the odd thing is Harold Krentz has been blind since childhood. Harold Krentz wrote a book called "To Race the Wind" and he writes about being the inspiration for the story of Butterflies are free.