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The Courtship of Eddie's Father
The smooth direction of Vincente Minnelli and a completely winning cast make the 1963 family comedy The Courtship of Eddie's Father definitely worth your time.
The film stars Glenn Ford as Tom Corbett, a recent widower who is adjusting to life without his beloved Helen by focusing all of his energy on his young son, Eddie (Ronny Howard). Eddie, on the other hand, sees Tom is not adjusting as well as he claims and is focusing all of his energy on getting Dad to remarry. His prime candidate is their across the hall neighbor, Elizabeth (Shirley Jones), who was Helen's best friend, but she and Tom just can't seem to connect. Tom eventually sets his sights on a glamorous but icy socialite named Rita (Dina Merrill) who is also attracted to Tom, but Eddie is not having it.
John Gay's screenplay, based on a novel by Mark, is clever with some nice adult touches, but it is most effective in the way it sets up the relationship between father and son Corbett...these are two guys who have been through their own personal hell and are scratching their way out, but still haven't figured out that they have their own ways of dealing with this loss and they have to let each other do what they have to do. There's one almost shocking scene where Eddie asks Tom if he can go next door to tell his best friend that his mom died and you see Tom actually start to stop Eddie, but realizes this is what Eddie has to do.
There's no denying it's pretty obvious how this story is going to end, but the journey is such a pleasant one that the expected bumps leading to the requisite happy ending are actually welcome, even if it makes the story just a tad longer than it really needs to be.
Minnelli does wonders with a first rate cast, led by Ford and Howard who create an instant and totally viable chemistry as Tom and Eddie Corbett. Future Oscar winning director Howard delivers one of the best child performances I have seen in years, a perfect blend of warmth and intelligence that never becomes cloying or saccharine. Little Ronny really understands this character...watch him in that scene where he and Tom have dinner with Rita for the first time...he nails it without ever forgetting that he is a kid and that he has the ability to manipulate dad when it suits him. BTW, if you don't blink, you might catch Ronny's little brother, Clint at Eddie's birthday party and his dad, Rance Howard, as a counselor at the summer camp.
Jones is charming, reunited with Little Ronny after their triumph the previous year in The Music Man and Merrill is sophisticated and elegant as Rita. There is also a standout supporting turn from the fabulous Stella Stevens as a woman the Corbetts meet in an arcade who eventually finds happiness with Tom's boss (Jerry Van Dyke). The film features some exquisite set direction and the ladies are beautifully gowned by Helen Rose. Six years after the release of this film, ABC turned it into a sitcom with the late Bill Bixby playing Tom and Brandon Cruz playing Eddie, but I think even fans of that series will be surprised by its supremely entertaining origin.
The smooth direction of Vincente Minnelli and a completely winning cast make the 1963 family comedy The Courtship of Eddie's Father definitely worth your time.
The film stars Glenn Ford as Tom Corbett, a recent widower who is adjusting to life without his beloved Helen by focusing all of his energy on his young son, Eddie (Ronny Howard). Eddie, on the other hand, sees Tom is not adjusting as well as he claims and is focusing all of his energy on getting Dad to remarry. His prime candidate is their across the hall neighbor, Elizabeth (Shirley Jones), who was Helen's best friend, but she and Tom just can't seem to connect. Tom eventually sets his sights on a glamorous but icy socialite named Rita (Dina Merrill) who is also attracted to Tom, but Eddie is not having it.
John Gay's screenplay, based on a novel by Mark, is clever with some nice adult touches, but it is most effective in the way it sets up the relationship between father and son Corbett...these are two guys who have been through their own personal hell and are scratching their way out, but still haven't figured out that they have their own ways of dealing with this loss and they have to let each other do what they have to do. There's one almost shocking scene where Eddie asks Tom if he can go next door to tell his best friend that his mom died and you see Tom actually start to stop Eddie, but realizes this is what Eddie has to do.
There's no denying it's pretty obvious how this story is going to end, but the journey is such a pleasant one that the expected bumps leading to the requisite happy ending are actually welcome, even if it makes the story just a tad longer than it really needs to be.
Minnelli does wonders with a first rate cast, led by Ford and Howard who create an instant and totally viable chemistry as Tom and Eddie Corbett. Future Oscar winning director Howard delivers one of the best child performances I have seen in years, a perfect blend of warmth and intelligence that never becomes cloying or saccharine. Little Ronny really understands this character...watch him in that scene where he and Tom have dinner with Rita for the first time...he nails it without ever forgetting that he is a kid and that he has the ability to manipulate dad when it suits him. BTW, if you don't blink, you might catch Ronny's little brother, Clint at Eddie's birthday party and his dad, Rance Howard, as a counselor at the summer camp.
Jones is charming, reunited with Little Ronny after their triumph the previous year in The Music Man and Merrill is sophisticated and elegant as Rita. There is also a standout supporting turn from the fabulous Stella Stevens as a woman the Corbetts meet in an arcade who eventually finds happiness with Tom's boss (Jerry Van Dyke). The film features some exquisite set direction and the ladies are beautifully gowned by Helen Rose. Six years after the release of this film, ABC turned it into a sitcom with the late Bill Bixby playing Tom and Brandon Cruz playing Eddie, but I think even fans of that series will be surprised by its supremely entertaining origin.