Product Details

• Actors: Glenn Ford, Ron Howard, Shirley Jones, Stella Stevens, Dina Merrill
• Directors: Vincente Minnelli
• Writers: John Gay, Mark Toby
• Producers: Joe Pasternak
• Format: Color, HiFi Sound, Original recording reissued, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: MGM (Warner)
• VHS Release Date: March 2, 1999
• Run Time: 118 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0792840550
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #81,646 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Decades may pass, but The Courtship of Eddie's Father never loses any of its abundant charm. Long before he became an Oscar®-winning director, 8-year-old "Ronny" Howard (then appearing on TV's The Andy Griffith Show) costarred with Glenn Ford in this heartwarming family classic, later adapted into a TV series (1969-72) starring Bill Bixby and Brandon Cruz. While the later show adopted a hip, late-'60s sensibility, this 1963 production is more straight-laced and, for its time, remarkably frank--and disarmingly funny--about the many questions that precocious son Eddie (Howard) has for his widower father (Ford) as they recover from the death of wife and mother. A perfect director for this delicate material (wonderfully adapted from Mark Toby's novel), Vincente Minnelli hits all the right notes of sadness, hope, and parental concern; Ford's unspoken love for a helpful neighbor (Shirley Jones) may be a foregone conclusion, but romantic subplots (and Eddie's diligent matchmaking) add plenty of domestic drama. Sweet but never saccharine, this timeless Courtship is guaranteed to make you smile. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "The Bad Ladies Always Have Big Busts; That's How You Can Tell A Good Lady From A Bad Lady", March 20, 2006

By 

David Von Pein (Mooresville, Indiana; USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Courtship of Eddie's Father (DVD)

"The Courtship Of Eddie's Father" was made in 1962 and released in movie theaters in March 1963. It's a mix of romantic comedy and drama, with a good blend of sad but poignant moments and funny ones too (including a few 'fall-on-the-floor' segments of hilarity). And the "through-the-eyes-of-Eddie" ending is just perfect.

Most of the really funny scenes in the film are supplied by 8-year-old Ronny Howard, who makes his way through a rollercoaster of emotions in the movie, and still stays on the rails of "believability" while doing so, IMO. He's very funny at times in "Courtship", and also is able to turn on the water works as needed too. I, myself, have never seen a better child actor up on the screen (big screen or small), although 11-year-old Dean Stockwell's performance in 1947's "Gentleman's Agreement" would rank pretty high in that category as well.

Ronny Howard made "Courtship" during a break in the filming of his TV series, "The Andy Griffith Show", on which Howard played "Opie Taylor" (probably the cutest kid ever on TV, especially during Season 1 of that popular and endearing sitcom). I'm guessing that this movie was filmed sometime between seasons two and three of the Griffith Show.

The intelligent and snappy script for "The Courtship Of Eddie's Father" dishes up several funny lines for Ronny ("Eddie Corbett") to speak, some of which you certainly are not liable to find residing within any script of Ronny's Andy Griffith television series. Such as when Eddie asks his father ("Tom Corbett"; played very nicely by 46-year-old Glenn Ford) the following question:

"Dad, what do the numbers mean after a lady's name? It says here {in this magazine} '40-18-35'."

To which Glenn Ford then replies (having his curiosity most definitely piqued by the robust measurements Eddie just relayed): "Holy smoke, who's that?!"

~LOL!~

By the way -- Those eye-popping measurements were said by Eddie in the film to be those of Jayne Mansfield. Per data I can find, those stats are about right too. According to one online source, Jayne's shapely figure is said to have averaged a head-turning "40-21-35.5". (Tom Corbett was right -- "Holy smoke" indeed!) :-)

Other spirited and precocious dialogue spoken by young lad Edward in this film include references to "big busts", "my sugar man", and a remark about "girls not looking so good from behind". (Ronny, then, must have never wandered over to the set of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" during his tenure as "Opie", in order to watch Mary Tyler Moore. His "from behind" evaluation would be permanently erased from his mind if he had done so.)

~wink~

"Courtship" offers up a splendid and (ahem) well-rounded cast. Besides the two leads of Ford and Howard, there's also the never-lovelier 28-year-old Shirley Jones as the woman next door, plus Stella Stevens, Dina Merrill, Jerry Van Dyke, and Roberta Sherwood.

It's nice to be able to see Jerry Van Dyke here in a role where he doesn't have to portray a clumsy and stuttering wimp-like character. Don't get me wrong, though, Jerry's one of the best "wimps" in the business. No offense. But it's nice to see him in a different, more assertive part for a change, which he plays here as "Norman Jones" (a playboying disc jockey at the radio station where Ford serves as Program Manager). Heck, he ends up with Stella Stevens as a mate; so he certainly can't be called a loser here.

Also watch out for Ronny Howard's real dad, Rance, in a small part as a camp counselor. Rance pops up in a lot of his son's TV shows and movies, often showing up in bit parts on "The Andy Griffith Show" too.

Ronny's brother, Clint, age 3, also has a cameo in "Courtship" (in the birthday-party scene). And "Miss America 1955", Lee Meriwether, has a small role as a secretary/receptionist.

There's a good chemistry in "Courtship" amongst the characters (between Ronny and Glenn and also between Shirley and Glenn). And the delicate subject of losing a wife and mother to sudden death is dealt with honestly and openly throughout the film, producing some heartfelt and realistic scenes between Ford's character and Ronny's.

The "dead fish" scene might have been a tad bit over-the-top, IMO, but what that scene, more than any other, demonstrates in this movie is Ronny Howard's remarkable acting abilities as an eight-year-old boy. The tail-end of that emotional "fish" scene has Ronny shivering and partly crying in a manner that truly makes the viewer believe he has just been through a traumatic experience. (See the Season-Four "Andy Griffith" episode "Opie The Birdman" for another excellent example of Howard's considerable acting chops. He's great there too.)

This movie was filmed with a good deal of tender loving care it seems to me. The colors are rich and luscious and the movie's sets exude an "upper class" kind of quality. The Corbett's plush-looking apartment is probably one that a lot of people would be willing to fork over some serious cash for even today. (Housekeeper "Mrs. Livingston" {Sherwood} even remarks in the film: "There are women who would marry you this very minute for the equipment you have in this apartment".)

I enjoy movies that were made during this particular time period (1950s/1960s). You can almost soak up the era in which the film was made right through the screen, and nestle down comfortably into it.

I had never realized before getting this DVD that this motion picture was filmed in a super-wide "scope" aspect ratio (2.35:1). Heretofore, I'd only seen the film in a Full-Frame (1.33:1) TV format. I imagine many DVD buyers have had similar experiences, where a particular film's original screen shape is totally a mystery until purchasing the movie on the better-quality DVD format.

I didn't know what I was missing (literally) until seeing the film in its intended Widescreen shape. After seeing any movie in its "OAR", it's difficult to tolerate anything less (again, literally). Any pan-and-scanned, Full-Frame version is bound to be second-rate by comparison. And "Courtship" is no exception.

Warner Home Video brought "The Courtship Of Eddie's Father" to DVD with the release of this disc in May of 2003; and they've done a very good job on the film transfer here (IMHO anyway). It isn't what you'd call an absolutely "perfect" DVD print though. A few speckles of dust and dirt appear here and there; and a few places could be honed-in to better razor-sharpness. But, overall, this anamorphic DVD print is clean, with nicely-saturated colors. Many scenes ooze ultra-rich color, with red showing up particularly bright and handsome here.

The DVD has a few Special Features attached. Not too many; but some. There's a three-person Audio Commentary Track, which is nice. The three female leads all participate in the Commentary (Shirley Jones, Dina Merrill, and Stella Stevens).

There's a Theatrical Trailer for the film as well. And it's kind of a "special" trailer, in that it's the "Hollywood Preview Engagement" trailer for the movie (which was only seen in selected theaters around the country). The trailer is in Anamorphic Widescreen here and looks quite clean. It runs for 2:56. Audio for the trailer is in Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono.

The only other bonus items are some text-only production notes and a one-screen list of credits for the cast and crew.


Other Info About This DVD:

Audio is Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono (both English and French Mono tracks provided).

Video is Anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1).

Subtitles are available in three languages (English, French, Spanish).

Menus are anamorphic and static in design. Theme music plays under Main Menu.

30 total Scene Selections (Chapters).

Snap Case (cardboard type) box, with nice-looking artwork. (Looks like original poster art used for the cover.)

--------------------

There's nothing really out-of-this-world spectacular about "The Courtship Of Eddie's Father". But I enjoy watching this film a good deal. The interaction between the characters is both well-done and inspiring. This is just a pleasant, clean, charming, fun, funny (and sometimes sad) movie.

A recommended DVD purchase (even if you're not "40-18-35"). .... Gee whiz, I wonder how such a 'healthy' woman can walk without falling over? Must be quite an adventure. ;)

Bye.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars charming family comedy, April 26, 2001

By 

Byron Kolln (the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Courtship of Eddie's Father [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Glenn Ford and Ronny Howard star in the wonderful family comedy THE COURTSHIP OF EDDIE'S FATHER, a warm, winning film directed by master showman Vincente Minnelli.

After his wife dies, Tom Corbett (Glenn Ford) is coping as best he can, now being one of New York's most eligible bachelors. His young son Eddie (Ronny Howard), however, has definite ideas about who he wants his father to marry. None other than the kindly young divorcee living across the hall, Elizabeth (Shirley Jones). Tom, however, is dating cold socialite Rita (Dina Merrill).

How father and son teach each other about life and love makes for unforgettable screen entertainment.

With Stella Stevens, Roberta Sherwood and Jerry Van Dyke.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a GREAT, CHARMING FILM!, January 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Courtship of Eddie's Father [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I love this movie with Glenn Ford and Ronny Howard. It's a fun comedy yet touching. It's for people of all ages who would enjoy watching a charming movie. I've seen it many times and can't get enough of it. Glenn Ford portays a widower who is raising his child alone. Little Ronny Howard wants to make his dad happy by finding him a new wife. I suggest you purchase this movie and see it.