The Courtship of Eddie's Father (film)
| The Courtship of Eddie's Father | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster
| |
| Directed by | Vincente Minnelli |
| Screenplay by | John Gay |
| Based on |
The Courtship of Eddie's Father 1961 novel by Mark Toby |
| Produced by | Joe Pasternak |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Milton R. Krasner |
| Edited by | Adrienne Fazan |
| Music by | George Stoll |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
March 27, 1963 |
Running time |
118 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $2,000,000 (U.S./Canada) |
The Courtship of Eddie's Father is a 1963 American Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer romantic comedy film directed by Vincente Minnelli, and stars Glenn Ford as a widowed father and Ronny Howard 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 and Brandon Cruz, which ran from 1969 to 1972.
Plot
Young Eddie Corbett (Ronny Howard) tries his best to be a matchmaker for his widowed father, Tom (Glenn Ford), a radio station executive. At first, sexy Dollye Daly (Stella Stevens) seems promising, but she ends up falling in love with and marrying Norman Jones (Jerry Van Dyke), Tom's friend and colleague.
Tom becomes attracted to a sophisticated socialite, Rita Behrens (Dina Merrill). 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), and by their divorced next-door neighbor, Elizabeth Marten (Shirley Jones). It takes a crisis for Tom to realize what has been under his nose all along.
Cast
- Glenn Ford as Tom Corbett
- Ron Howard as Eddie Corbett
- Shirley Jones as Elizabeth Marten
- Dina Merrill as Rita Behrens
- Stella Stevens as Dollye Daly
- Jerry Van Dyke as Norman Jones
- Roberta Sherwood 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 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."
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).