General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

Butterflies Are Free

Butterflies Are Free is a 1972 American comedy-drama film directed by Milton Katselas, based on Leonard Gershe's Broadway play of the same title, about a blind young man, Don Baker (Edward Albert), who leaves his overprotective mother to live independently in San Francisco and falls in love with his free-spirited neighbor, aspiring actress Jill Tanner (Goldie Hawn).¹^•² Eileen Heckart won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Don's mother, Mrs. Florence Baker.²

Key fact	Detail
Release	July 1972; New York opening 6 July 1972; distributed by Columbia Pictures¹
Source	Leonard Gershe's play, which ran at the Booth Theatre on Broadway from 21 October 1969 to 2 July 1972, for 1,128 performances after 12 previews¹^•³
Principal cast	Goldie Hawn (Jill Tanner), Edward Albert (Don Baker), Eileen Heckart (Mrs. Florence Baker), Paul Michael Glaser (Ralph)¹
Awards	Heckart won the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award; the film received five Golden Globe nominations and one win, Edward Albert as New Star of the Year - Actor²^•⁴
Title source	A line from Charles Dickens' novel Bleak House: "I only ask to be free. The butterflies are free."¹
Setting change	The play is set in Don Baker's apartment on East 11th Street in New York; the film moved the story to San Francisco, where location shooting took place³^•¹
Runtime and rating	109-110 or 112 minutes per the AFI Catalog; rated PG¹

Spoilers

Plot

Don Baker, blind since birth, has lived under the close supervision of his mother, who writes the popular "Donny Dark" children's books about him. He moves into his own apartment in San Francisco, promising her that if he cannot make it on his own within three months he will return home. His neighbor is Jill Tanner, an eccentric, free-spirited aspiring actress. Charmed by Don's quick sense of humor, the two become friends and lovers. Their relationship is threatened by Mrs. Baker's intrusions and by Jill's lifestyle when a theatrical producer offers her a stage part on the condition that she also perform offstage for him.² In the film, both Jill and Don quote Bleak House to explain their need for independence.¹

The Broadway play

Gershe wrote the play after hearing a radio interview with Harold Krents, a blind Harvard Law School graduate who had gained public attention with witty remarks about being mistakenly drafted.¹ The production opened at the Booth Theatre on October 21, 1969, directed by Milton Katselas, who also directed the film. The original cast featured Keir Dullea as Don, Eileen Heckart as Mrs. Baker, Blythe Danner as Jill, and Michael Glaser as Ralph.³ Danner won the 1970 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play, and Heckart was nominated in the same category.³

Long run and replacements. The production ran nearly three years, closing on July 2, 1972, only days before the film's release. Successive performers took over the leading roles: Rosemary Murphy and then Gloria Swanson played Mrs. Baker, Kathleen Miller and Pamela Bellwood played Jill, and Dirk Benedict and David Huffman were among the Dons.³ A national tour ran from May 13, 1970 to May 1, 1971.⁵ The play remains licensed for amateur and professional production; Concord Theatricals lists a minimum fee of $130 per performance and a running time of 105 minutes.⁶

From stage to screen

In October 1969, producer George Englund was reported as interested in the film rights, hoping to cast Heckart and Dullea in their stage roles. In June 1970, The Hollywood Reporter announced that M. J. Frankovich had bought the rights for a Columbia release. Heckart and Michael Glaser reprised their stage roles in the film; Hawn and Albert took the roles Danner and Dullea had played on stage.¹

Although the play was set in New York City's Greenwich Village, the film was relocated to San Francisco, where location shooting took place. Production ran from late September to mid-November 1971.¹ The crew included cinematographer Charles B. Lang, editor David Blewitt, production designer Robert Clatworthy, and composer Bob Alcivar, who with lyricist Randy McNeill wrote the original song "Carry Me."¹^•⁴ The film was shot in Eastman Color and copyrighted by Frankovich Productions, Inc. on July 6, 1972.¹

Reception and honors

The film received five Golden Globe nominations for 1973: Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, Best Actress (Hawn) and Best Actor (Albert) in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, Best Original Song for "Carry Me," and New Star of the Year - Actor, which Albert won.⁴ Heckart's Oscar win for Best Supporting Actress was for this role.² On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 69% Tomatometer from 13 critics and an 80% audience score from more than 2,500 ratings; a Variety review praised Hawn as "funny and touching" and noted that the film gave Heckart a role displaying her versatility.⁷ The film remains available on digital platforms and DVD, with copyright held by Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., renewed in 2000.²

Leonard Gershe

Leonard Gershe (June 10, 1922 - March 9, 2002) was born in New York City and made his Broadway debut as a lyricist for the 1950 revue Alive and Kicking. He wrote the book for Harold Rome's musical Destry Rides Again (1959), and his play Miss Pell Is Missing, based on a short story by Saki, played London in 1962. After Butterflies Are Free he wrote a screen adaptation of 40 Carats and material for That's Entertainment Part II; his later play Snacks, announced in 1982, never reached Broadway. He died in Beverly Hills at age 79.⁸^•⁹

References

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026