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The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1963)
Director:Vincente Minnelli
Cast: Glenn Ford, Ron Howard, Shirley Jones, Stella Stevens,Dina Merrill
Production Studio: MGM
A fun and sometimes bitterly terse movie about a recent widower Tom Corbett (Glenn Ford) and his young son Eddie (Ron Howard). As the father returns to his job and life after becoming a widower, his son Eddie, thinks it's time for dad to remarry.
Glenn Ford plays the father with a lot of pent up anger. It's quite different than the TV version with Bill Bixby. I'm not sure if the producers wanted that type of character, perhaps that's just the way Ford played it.
Across the hall lives a pretty young woman who has been a friend to the Corbett family since little Eddie was born. Elizabeth (Shirley Jones) is sweet, kind and cares deeply for both Tom and little Eddie.
But dad is too blind to see it...Or perhaps as Elizabeth was his wife's best friend he doesn't want to see it. In a couple of scenes he's particular cynical towards her, accusing her of climbing over Eddie to get to him. If ever a man needed a reality check it's Tom.
First potential mommy that Eddie spots is Dolly (Stella Stevens). He likes her red hair and thinks she's pretty...smart kid. He wants Dolly to live with them, but dads not so sure, so he pawns her off on his friend (Jerry Van Dyke).
Dad then spots a rich fashionable lady, Rita (Dina Merrill) and falls for her. She's not the mother type and little Eddie will have no part of it. He pouts and runs away from camp, scuttling Dad's plans for happiness.
With a little help from the housekeeper, the pretty lady from across the hall is back in the picture.
The story line is sometimes uneven. We don't really see what motives Glenn Ford to be so nasty towards Shirley Jones, but we can guess the reason. It's like a few scenes are missing. At 118 minutes, perhaps the producers decided the movie was long enough.
One high note of the film is director Vincente Minnelli. As with most Minnelli films the art direction is stunning. Vincente in his earlier years had worked as a costume, set designer and art director. The color pallets he uses and the care in matching everything from wall color to the women's coordinated dresses...to the smallest details, is sublime.
The Courtship of Eddie's Father has a lot to offer, just don't expect to see the gentle father-son TV show relationship in this movie.
Director:Vincente Minnelli
Cast: Glenn Ford, Ron Howard, Shirley Jones, Stella Stevens,Dina Merrill
Production Studio: MGM
A fun and sometimes bitterly terse movie about a recent widower Tom Corbett (Glenn Ford) and his young son Eddie (Ron Howard). As the father returns to his job and life after becoming a widower, his son Eddie, thinks it's time for dad to remarry.
Glenn Ford plays the father with a lot of pent up anger. It's quite different than the TV version with Bill Bixby. I'm not sure if the producers wanted that type of character, perhaps that's just the way Ford played it.
Across the hall lives a pretty young woman who has been a friend to the Corbett family since little Eddie was born. Elizabeth (Shirley Jones) is sweet, kind and cares deeply for both Tom and little Eddie.
But dad is too blind to see it...Or perhaps as Elizabeth was his wife's best friend he doesn't want to see it. In a couple of scenes he's particular cynical towards her, accusing her of climbing over Eddie to get to him. If ever a man needed a reality check it's Tom.
First potential mommy that Eddie spots is Dolly (Stella Stevens). He likes her red hair and thinks she's pretty...smart kid. He wants Dolly to live with them, but dads not so sure, so he pawns her off on his friend (Jerry Van Dyke).
Dad then spots a rich fashionable lady, Rita (Dina Merrill) and falls for her. She's not the mother type and little Eddie will have no part of it. He pouts and runs away from camp, scuttling Dad's plans for happiness.
With a little help from the housekeeper, the pretty lady from across the hall is back in the picture.
The story line is sometimes uneven. We don't really see what motives Glenn Ford to be so nasty towards Shirley Jones, but we can guess the reason. It's like a few scenes are missing. At 118 minutes, perhaps the producers decided the movie was long enough.
One high note of the film is director Vincente Minnelli. As with most Minnelli films the art direction is stunning. Vincente in his earlier years had worked as a costume, set designer and art director. The color pallets he uses and the care in matching everything from wall color to the women's coordinated dresses...to the smallest details, is sublime.
The Courtship of Eddie's Father has a lot to offer, just don't expect to see the gentle father-son TV show relationship in this movie.