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:

The long run hit play on the screen with all its humor and all its heart.

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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

The location of the film's source play is described at its start as: "Setting: Don Baker's apartment on East 11th Street in New York".

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Goofs

At 1:00:38, the way Jill holds things changes, and then reverts.

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Quotes

Don: Shh... i'm counting so I don't step in the picnic on the way back!

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Connections

Referenced in Sunny Side Up (1994)

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Soundtracks

Take Me Home, Country Roads
Music and Lyrics by John Denver, Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert
Published by Cherry Lane Music Co.
Sung by Edward Albert

User Reviews

the girl next door and the cute blind man...

A light drama set in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury area of the early 70's. It is the latter days of the Vietnam War, an innocent time for us here in the 90's prior to the advent of AIDS & gay liberation & Watergate. Young cute and blind Don Baker(Edward Albert) makes a concerted effort at independence from his home and his clinging over-protective mother(Eileen Heckart) by moving into his own apartment. He meets and falls for the girl next door,literally. Goldie Hawn, here in one of her more successful & effortless roles as an extrovert gregarious actress. Young Don must come to terms with his blooming relationship together with his handicap.There is also mothers apparent disapproval of her son's budding affair.(her silence on the matter is thunderous). Enough said.

There are some wonderful scenes in this movie especially those moments between Heckart & Hawn. For her role Heckart deservedly won an oscar that year. Domineering & disapproving she may be but she is not an ogre rather a contrast in femininity to Jill, the other woman in Don's life. The emotional change as she slowly accepts her son's independence gives the film some substance it would not otherwise have. Wonderful scene when mother & girlfriend first meet, in his kitchen, and Jill in her underwear !.The chill in the air is palpable but both characters size up the situation without even a hint of discomfort. The ending was surprising and very apt, a very touching moment between mother & son. Edward Albert does a convincing turn here and his circumstances are clearly the pivotal link for the other two characters coming into conflict. But it does seem superfluous at times in view of Hawn & Heckart's strong performances. A not too serious romance not to be missed by the romantics in all of us.