SpuffyWeb
Sadly Over-hyped
Mjeteconer
Just perfect...
AshUnow
This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
JasparLamarCrabb
It's certainly charming, but it's also just a tad too sweet. Vincente Minnelli's direction is possibly his glossiest...there's not an inkling of reality allowed to seep in...Glenn Ford's wife dies and he and son Ronny Howard a left at sea trying to make it without a woman in their lives. WHO will they get to take her place? Neighbor Shirley Jones seems an ideal fit as does potential beauty pageant entrant Stella Stevens...not so much fashion maven Dina Merrill. The three leading ladies are all fine, but Ford is just awful...he's way too cold for this material. Howard is just as bad (clearly taking cues from someone off camera) and particularly grating when he's supposed to be distressed (running a fever, melting down after discovering one of his goldfish has died). Ford and Howard are supposed to be emotional zombies, but their acting just clashes with the overall light feel of the rest of the movie. And what genius decided to cast Jerry Van Dyke(!) as Ford's comic foil (a caddish DJ at the radio station Ford works at)? When compared to brother Dick, it's clear that Jerry came from the shallow end of the comic gene pool.
17268
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.
audubon-1
First time I've ever seen this forty year old movie, and I loved it.Was that really Ron Howard ? (Well we didn't get Andy Griffith Show so I'm not used to him being so young). I always find Glenn Ford to be a tru pro, and was happy to see Stella Stevens in it.I think she starred in Girls Girls Girls around the same period.I used to have a huge poster of her and Elvis on my wall when I was a kid(from Girls Girls Girls). I prefer this kind of movie to many on the screen today. At least men and women drressed well then.
dbdumonteil
The problem with this movie of the highly talented Minnelli is that it hesitates between comedy and drama.1.Comedy: there are two comic reliefs ;but they are neither original nor very funny.Stella Stevens 's part recalls a cross between Shirley MCLaine and Marilyn Monroe : that is to say how Wilder's shadow hangs over the movie;the scene when Stevens borrows the boy is a pale copy of Wilder's triumphs.You almost hear Marilyn say "Why are all these men always following me?"2.Drama: the scene of the fish,which is almost unbearable in this context, does not belong to the comedy at all :I wonder how Minnelli managed with his young actor for this very disturbing scene.The holiday camp scene ,on the other hand ,is routine drama.This is really pussyfooting.This is pleasant to watch,but definitely not among Minnelli's best.
