The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1963)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Vincente Minnelli

Writers:

Mark Toby (novel)
John Gay (writer)

Release Date:

27 March 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Every boy needs a mother...even if Dad has to marry her!

Plot:

Eddie thinks it is time for his father to remarry. However, in his opinion his father's taste in women leaves much to be desired...

Plot Keywords:

Courtship | Parenthood | Friendship | Male Female Relationship | Widow

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Glenn Ford	...	Tom Corbett
Shirley Jones	...	Elizabeth Marten
Stella Stevens	...	Dollye Daly
Dina Merrill	...	Rita Behrens
Roberta Sherwood	...	Mrs. Livingston
Ron Howard	...	Eddie (as Ronny Howard)
Jerry Van Dyke	...	Norman Jones

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #20387) | Finland:S | Germany:6 | Sweden:11 | Argentina:Atp

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

In Norman Jones's (Jerry Van Dyke's) radio studio, there are black-and-white publicity photos of various celebrities on the wall. One of the pictures is of Jerry Van Dyke's real-life brother, Dick Van Dyke, who was starring in "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1961) at the time the film was made.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Norman Jones: Wake up Manhattan. Come out of that warm, rosy dream, open those big, luscious eyes and meet a new, exciting day. I'm talking to you ravishing, delicious, madcap girls still in that warm, cozy bed. Now what you need is a nice, hot cup of coffee, Bentley Coffee of course. That rich, intoxicating aroma, that tantalizing blend that makes the senses reel and the pulses tingle.
[shouts]
Norman Jones: Look out! Don't burn those delicate, sensuous fingers. Why if anything should happen to those wild, impetuous hands, Jones would be heartbroken, Aw, did she hurt herself? Don't cry. Old Norm here will fix it.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Empty Nest: The Courtship of Carol's Father (#7.7)" (1994)

Soundtrack:

The Rose And The Butterfly

Another example of the under-usage of Dina Merrill

Dina Merrill should have had a much more successful screen career. She is a beautiful, intelligent, warm, extremely credible actress. Perhaps her very strong resemblance to Grace Kelly worked against her. In this film, "The Courtship of Eddie's Father," someone had the dumb idea to make her a brunette, probably because the lead actress, Shirley Jones, was also a blonde. For Merrill, this is a nothing role which she brings a great deal more to than it deserves. The rest of the cast is good, especially Ron(nie) Howard, although Glenn Ford is, as usual, low-key to the point of monotony; and Jerry Van Dyke proves that the same genes don't necessarily produce comic geniuses in a family.