''The Courtship of Eddie's Father'' is a 1963 American

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

romantic comedy film Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

directed by

Vincente Minnelli Vincente Minnelli (born Lester Anthony Minnelli; February 28, 1903 – July 25, 1986) was an American stage director and film director. He directed the classic movie musicals ''Meet Me in St. Louis'' (1944), ''An American in Paris'' (1951), ''Th ...

, and stars

Glenn Ford Gwyllyn Samuel Newton "Glenn" Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006) was a Canadian-American actor who often portrayed ordinary men in unusual circumstances. Ford was most prominent during Classical Hollywood cinema, Hollywood's Golden Age as ...

as a widowed father and

Ronny Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''. He ...

as his caring son. The film was based on a 1961 novel by Mark Toby, as was the ABC-TV series of the same name with

Bill Bixby Wilfred Bailey Everett Bixby III (January 22, 1934 – November 21, 1993) professionally known as Bill Bixby, was an American actor, director, producer, and frequent game-show panellist. Bixby's career spanned more than three decades, includi ...

and

Brandon Cruz Brandon Edwin Cruz (born May 28, 1962) is an American actor and singer best known for his role as Eddie Corbett, son of widower Tom Corbett (played by Bill Bixby) on the television series ''The Courtship of Eddie's Father''. Cruz is also a punk ...

, which ran from 1969 to 1972.

Plot

Young Eddie Corbett (

) tries his best to be a matchmaker for his widowed father, Tom (

), a radio station executive. At first, sexy Dollye Daly (

Stella Stevens Stella Stevens (born Estelle Eggleston; October 1, 1938) is a American former actress. She began her acting career in 1959 and starred in such popular films as '' Girls! Girls! Girls!'' (1962), '' The Nutty Professor'' (1963), ''The Courtship of ...

) seems promising, but she ends up falling in love with and marrying Norman Jones (

Jerry Van Dyke Jerry McCord Van Dyke (July 27, 1931 – January 5, 2018) was an American actor and comedian. He was the younger brother of Dick Van Dyke. Van Dyke had a long and successful career mostly as a character actor in supporting and guest roles on pop ...

), Tom's friend and colleague. Tom becomes attracted to a sophisticated

socialite A socialite is a person from a wealthy and (possibly) aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having traditio ...

, Rita Behrens (

Dina Merrill Dina Merrill (born Nedenia Marjorie Hutton; December 29, 1923 – May 22, 2017) was an American actress, heiress, socialite, businesswoman, and philanthropist. Early life Merrill was born in New York City on December 29, 1923, but for man ...

). They begin considering marriage, but Eddie takes an immediate dislike to Rita and she does not know how to deal with him, nor does she particularly wish to learn, and Tom eventually chooses his son over her. Through all this, the Corbetts are supported by their new housekeeper, Mrs. Livingston (

Roberta Sherwood Roberta Sherwood (July 1, 1913, St. Louis, Missouri – July 5, 1999, Sherman Oaks, California) was an American singer, notable in part for her sudden rise to fame at the age of 43. Early life and rise to stardom Roberta's father Robert Sherwo ...

), and by their divorced next-door neighbor, Elizabeth Marten (

Shirley Jones Shirley Mae Jones (born March 31, 1934) is an American actress and singer. In her six decades in show business, she has starred as wholesome characters in a number of musical films, such as ''Oklahoma!'' (1955), ''Carousel'' (1956), and ''The M ...

). It takes a crisis for Tom to realize what has been under his nose all along.

Cast

as Tom Corbett *

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''. He ...

as Eddie Corbett *

as Elizabeth Marten *

as Rita Behrens *

as Dollye Daly *

as Norman Jones *

as Mrs. Livingston

Production

Film rights to the novel were bought by MGM prior to publication for $100,000 in 1961. The ''Chicago Tribune'' called the novel "deeply moving, and at the same time, very funny." Producer Joe Pasternak assigned John Gay to write the script and hired Glenn Ford to star. Shirley Jones accepted her role in part because she did not have to sing. Roberta Sherwood, a

nightclub singer A nightclub act is a production, usually of nightclub music or comedy, designed for performance at a nightclub, a type of drinking establishment, by a nightclub performer such as a nightclub singer or nightclub dancer, whose performance may ...

and TV entertainer, made her film debut. Pasternak says he interviewed hundreds of children to play Eddie but as soon as he talked to Ronny Howard "I knew he was right.""Sick Movies? Can't Do 'Em---Pasternak: Stories Written in Blood, Not Ink, Industry's Need" Scheuer, Philip K. ''Los Angeles Times'' 25 March 1963: C11. The bowling alley sequence was filmed at the now-defunct Paradise Bowl, located at 9116 South Sepulveda Boulevard in Los Angeles (two miles north of

LAX Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Courtship Of Eddie's Father, The 1963 films 1963 romantic comedy films American romantic comedy films Films about radio people Films about widowhood Films adapted into television shows Films based on American novels Films directed by Vincente Minnelli Films produced by Joe Pasternak Films with screenplays by John Gay (screenwriter) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links