The Courtship of Eddie’s Father
1963  NR  COMEDY  1h 58min
CAST— Glenn Ford, Ronny Howard, Shirley Jones, Stella Stevens, Dina Merrill, Roberta Sherwood, Jerry Van Dyke
MUSIC— George Stoll, Stella Unger, Victor Young  DIRECTOR— Vincente Minnelli  BASED ON— The Courtship of Eddie’s Father (novel), by Mark Toby

     A hollow and mirthless cinematic experience. At the insistent demands of his young son, a recent widower jumps back into the dating scene only weeks after his wife’s death. After finding a woman who seems to make him happy, he discovers that his son despises the woman and would rather his father dump her and marry their young neighbor. Thoroughly unpleasant film highlights Jerry Van Dyke in a fine supporting role, but fails to utilize him to his full potential. Too bad; the film needed all the help it could get. Later developed into a television series.
OUR RATING— * ½