The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1963)

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The Courtship of Eddie's Father is a rather sweet movie in which 9-year-old Ron Howard steels the show, trying to get his dad (Glenn Ford) a new wife after his own mother's passing. He's too young to understand about grief, but from what he's learned from comics, so long as she doesn't have "skinny eyes", it should be okay. Though it plays (and looks) like a romantic comedy, it sometimes dips into melodrama, as needed, and has some truthful things to say about being a child, raising a child, and courtship in and out of that situation. The Jerry Van Dike subplot feels a little unnecessary, though Stella Stevens playing the drums makes me absurdly happy, so maybe it was all worth it. I started by applauding L'il Ronny Howard who really was heads and shoulders above most child stars, but really, none of this would work without Glenn Ford who moves effortlessly between being kind, stern, neurotic, funny, and sad. 4 years 10 months ago