A blind man moves into his own apartment against the wishes of his overprotective mother and befriends the freethinking young woman next door.A blind man moves into his own apartment against the wishes of his overprotective mother and befriends the freethinking young woman next door.A blind man moves into his own apartment against the wishes of his overprotective mother and befriends the freethinking young woman next door.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 2 wins & 7 nominations total
Paul Michael Glaser
- Ralph
- (as Michael Glaser)
Michael Warren
- Roy
- (as Mike Warren)
Charlene Jones
- Girl in Mod Shop
- (uncredited)
Jessica Rains
- 1st Girl
- (uncredited)
Paul Ryan
- Man in Mod Shop
- (uncredited)
Debralee Scott
- Girl in Opening Credits
- (uncredited)
Sandra Vacey
- Girl in Mod Shop
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaEileen Heckart was nominated for the 1970 Tony Award for Supporting or Features Actress in a Drama for "Butterflies are Free" but lost to co-star Blythe Danner. She recreated her stage role in this movie version, and was nominated for an Oscar® for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. This time, she won.
- GoofsThe door behind Don is open when seen at 1:19:55 or earlier and closed whenever seen following 1:20:07. At 1:20:42, the door opens when Mrs. Baker rushes past Don, and, in the next second, it is obvious that Don was nowhere near the door.
- Quotes
Mrs. Baker: [interrogating Jill about being divorced] How long were you married?
Jill: Six days.
Mrs. Baker: And on the seventh day you rested?
Jill: No, I split.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Romantic Comedy (2019)
- SoundtracksButterflies Are Free
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (as Steve Schwartz)
Featured review
Overprotective Mama
This film version of Leonard Gershe's Butterflies are Free which ran for 1128 performances on Broadway from 1969 to 1972 transfers the location from Greenwich Village in Manhattan to the hippest areas of San Francisco circa the Seventies. Eileen Heckart and Paul Michael Glaser, later Starsky on Starsky&Hutch retain their original roles.
Replacing Keir Dullea and Blythe Danner in the leads are Edward Albert and Goldie Hawn. This was Edward Albert's film debut and Hawn was following up the Oscar she won for Cactus Flower. Both of them fit their parts perfectly.
But I can hardly see anyone else in the role of Albert's overprotective Mama than Eileen Heckart. Though she's only in the film in the second half, Heckart really dominates the proceedings. So much so she got an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress that year. Heckart also avoids the usual stereotyping as the mom, but she does register real concern for her kid going out in the world.
Edward Albert is her twenty something son who is trying to break free from his mom and is now living in an apartment that has a connecting door to the next apartment which is occupied by free spirited hippie chick, Goldie Hawn. Of course the key here is that Albert is blind, blind from birth. They develop into quite the romance that Heckart tries to break up.
Do love Goldie's fashion sense. See the episode where she takes Albert out of the apartment and clothes shopping. Remember those seventies fashions? Straight off the rack or the body of Barry Williams as Greg Brady.
Replacing Keir Dullea and Blythe Danner in the leads are Edward Albert and Goldie Hawn. This was Edward Albert's film debut and Hawn was following up the Oscar she won for Cactus Flower. Both of them fit their parts perfectly.
But I can hardly see anyone else in the role of Albert's overprotective Mama than Eileen Heckart. Though she's only in the film in the second half, Heckart really dominates the proceedings. So much so she got an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress that year. Heckart also avoids the usual stereotyping as the mom, but she does register real concern for her kid going out in the world.
Edward Albert is her twenty something son who is trying to break free from his mom and is now living in an apartment that has a connecting door to the next apartment which is occupied by free spirited hippie chick, Goldie Hawn. Of course the key here is that Albert is blind, blind from birth. They develop into quite the romance that Heckart tries to break up.
Do love Goldie's fashion sense. See the episode where she takes Albert out of the apartment and clothes shopping. Remember those seventies fashions? Straight off the rack or the body of Barry Williams as Greg Brady.
helpful•132
- bkoganbing
- Oct 11, 2006
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Schmetterlinge sind frei
- Filming locations
- 1901 Union Street, San Francisco, California, USA(Jill and Don walk past the Bus Stop saloon)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $250,000
- Runtime1 hour 49 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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