Film Friday: "The Courtship of Eddie's Father" (1963)
Since this week's "Film Friday" coincides with Glenn Ford's 99th birthday, I thought I'd tell you about one of my favorites of his films. I think this was also the first Glenn Ford film I ever saw. Theatrical release poster Directed by Vincente Minnelli , The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1963) follows Eddie Corbett (Ronny Howard), a six-and-a -half -year-old boy who is determined to find a new wife for his recently widowed father, Tom (Glenn Ford). Eddie wants his father to date their attractive next-door neighbor Elizabeth Marten (Shirley Jones), but he fails to interest Tom in a relationship with her. One day, Eddie meets sweet beauty pageant contestant Dollye Daly (Stella Stevens) and strikes up a friendship with her. At first, she seems promising, but she ends up falling in love with Norman Jones (Jerry Van Dyke), a disk-jockey who works with Tom at the radio station. Tom then become attracted to a sophisticated fashion consultant named ...