Eileen 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.
Bathtubs outside of the bathroom were a common feature in older city apartments. Having a tub in the living room, or kitchen, was not unusual.
Leonard Gershe was inspired to write the play when he heard a radio show interview with Harold Krents, a blind Harvard Law School graduate who gained public attention after making witty remarks about being mistakenly drafted. According to a October 4, 1971 LAHExam article, Krents became completely blind at nine years of age and later became a lawyer and advocate for the disabled. He served as a technical advisor on the movie and, soon after, published an autobiography, "To Race the Wind,"
which was made into a television movie To Race the Wind (1980).
Eileen Heckart and Paul Michael Glaser reprised the roles they created in the original 1969 Broadway production, which were as Mrs. Baker and Ralph Austin, respectively. Other carryovers from the play were director Milton Katselas and writer Leonard Gershe, who adapted his work for the big screen.
Ingrid Bergman, Olivia de Havilland, and Angela Lansbury were all considered for the role of Mrs. Baker.