Butterflies Are Free (1972)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Milton Katselas

Writers:

Leonard Gershe (play)
Leonard Gershe (screenplay)

Release Date:

22 September 1972 (Finland)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Drama

Tagline:

Take some time to smell the flowers.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

San Francisco California | Domineering Mother | Heartbreak | Overprotective Parent | Overbearing Mother

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 7 nominations

Cast

Goldie Hawn	...	Jill Tanner
Edward Albert	...	Don Baker
Eileen Heckart	...	Mrs. Baker
Paul Michael Glaser	...	Ralph (as Michael Glaser)
Michael Warren	...	Roy

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | Spain:18 | Sweden:Btl | USA:PG | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Frankovich Productions

Trivia:

The original Broadway production of "Butterflies Are Free" by Leonard Gershe opened at the Booth Theater on October 21, 1969 and ran for 1128 performances. Blythe Danner won a 1970 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance as Jill Tanner. Eileen Heckart was nominated for the 1970 Tony Award for Supporting or Features Actress in a Drama for "Butterflies are Free" and recreated her stage role in this movie version.

Quotes:

Mrs. Baker: [looking around Don's apartment] Where did this furniture come from?
Don Baker: Some of it came with the apartment, the rest I picked up at a junk shop.
Mrs. Baker: Well, don't tell me which is which, let me guess.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Tormented (#5.14)" (1992)

Soundtrack:

Butterflies Are Free

Should be seen

I first saw the play, then the movie, then a play put on at a local University. Now I watch the movie anytime I notice it on and have the time.

This movie will be hard to comprehend unless you can devote full attention to it as it moves fast and just gets better as it goes along - in other words if you don't have a copy of it make sure you've got your popcorn and a quiet house. It's mostly happy, with a few sad points but has a happy ending. This one gets all the stars and we did have one Oscar winning performer in it, I'll let you guess who.

A movie not to be missed, and if you can see it in a local play don't hesitate as it performs well even on the small stage.