The Courtship of Eddie's Father | Rotten Tomatoes

The Courtship of Eddie's Father

Released Mar 6, 1963

1 hr. 57 min.

Kids & Family

Comedy

Drama

List

67%

6 Reviews

Tomatometer

69%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Realizing that he needs a mother -- and his widower father, Tom (Glenn Ford), needs a wife -- precocious Eddie Corbett (Ron Howard) is determined to get his dad remarried. While Tom dates numerous women, including the uptight aristocrat Rita Behrens (Dina Merrill), nobody seems to be a good fit for Eddie or his father. Soon it becomes apparent that Tom's ideal match may be closer than he thought, as he begins to develop feelings for his lovely neighbor, Elizabeth Marten (Shirley Jones).

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CodyZamboni

An amusing comedy with undercurrents of sadness , as a widower, Glenn Ford, and his young son try to move on in life. Movie's main charm is young Ron Howard, trying to fix up his dad with other women, especially next door neighbor, Shirley Jones. Movie's poignancy comes with how Ron copes with the loss of his mom. To the movie's credit, it doesnt paint Ford as Mr Perfect, he is a real jerk sometimes, especially to Shirley. And I like that the movie doesn't provide easy happy answers or plot resolutions, only hope. Shirley Jones is so appealing and stunningly beautiful.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

07/31/23

Full Review

Steve D

Completely adorable and heartfelt.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/26/23

Full Review

Tom M

Great family film. Little Ronny Howard's range goes from brilliant to annoying and everywhere in between. One problem ... Seven minutes into movie, 28 year old Shirley Jones shows up at the door with a plate of fudge - courtship over ! Shortest movie ever!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/01/20

Full Review

Audience Member

Ron Howard's youthful innocence at the time during his days on Mayberry steals the show in a unique rom-com from an emotionally fragile, common angle but also adapted not too far apart from how Andy Griffith approaches things with Glenn Ford substituting nicely. (B)

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

jim b

Sexist, dated swill. Often called a heartwarming picture, I'm mystified why anybody would think that. Pure trash. Don't waste your time.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I saw this was gonna be on one of the classic movie channels, so I decided after 52 years, it was time to set the DVR. Ron was great, as I expected, but John Ford not so much. Not only was the chemistry all but non-existent, what was there was just awkward. Less disturbing than Ford's shitty performance, but still painful, was the odd pacing and completely unaddressed jumps in time and plot. Ehh, it was OK, and certainly fun to see Opie out of Mayberry and a young Shirley Jones, who's always good, but I was expecting more from a classic I'd never seen. Bleh.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

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Vincente Minnelli

Director

Glenn Ford

Tom Corbett

Shirley Jones

Elizabeth Marten

Ron Howard

Eddie Corbett

Stella Stevens

Dollye Daly

Dina Merrill

Rita Behrens

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Excellent seriocomedy.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jun 17, 2023

Full Review

Clyde Gilmour

Maclean's Magazine

Astonishingly, this time the net product is an agreeable entertainment, nimbly sidestepping most of the pitfalls in its path.

Oct 7, 2019

Full Review

Michael E. Grost

Classic Film and Television

Strange film about family tragedy masquerading as a comedy, the film does have some impressive sequences.

Aug 8, 2008

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

One of Minnellli's weakest (or is it modest?) serio comedies, dealing with the adjustment problems of a recent widower (Glenn Ford) and his young son (played by child actor-future director Ron Howard).

Rated: C

Jul 12, 2007

Full Review

Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Enjoyable family comedy.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 27, 2003

Full Review

Josh Gilchrist

Billings Outpost (Montana)

Rated: 4/5

Jul 29, 2003

Full Review

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Synopsis

Realizing that he needs a mother -- and his widower father, Tom (Glenn Ford), needs a wife -- precocious Eddie Corbett (Ron Howard) is determined to get his dad remarried. While Tom dates numerous women, including the uptight aristocrat Rita Behrens (Dina Merrill), nobody seems to be a good fit for Eddie or his father. Soon it becomes apparent that Tom's ideal match may be closer than he thought, as he begins to develop feelings for his lovely neighbor, Elizabeth Marten (Shirley Jones).

Director: Vincente Minnelli
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Venice Productions
Genre: Kids & Family, Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 6, 1963, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 18, 2008

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