Who will be the next Mrs. Corbett? Will it be the chic designer? The Miss Montana Pageant hopeful? The headstrong lady across the hall? It’s a big decision for any boy to make for his recently divorced Dad. Like father, like son. You’ll like ’em both when renowned child actor Ronny Howard portrays Eddie, and Glenn Ford is his Dad. Vincente Minnelli (Father of the Bride, Gigi) directs, using his flair for vivid colors and balancing the film’s humor with the real sense of loss a family feels over a loved one’s passing. Shirley Jones, Dina Merrill, and Stella Stevens portray the prospects under Eddie’s self-appointed scrutiny. The amiable Courtship continued years later with a same-titled TV series starring Bill Bixby.

For thoughts on The Courtship Of Eddie’s Father, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/b-PtbyQxg_Q?t=596]

Video Quality

Warner Archive presents The Courtship Of Eddie’s Father with a stunning new 1080p master transfer in 2.35:1 sourced from a 4K scan of the Original Camera Negative. Warner Archive always brings their A-game when they revisit their comedic gems, and this one is no exception. The level of minute detail and clarity is frankly jaw-dropping with the perfect amount of natural film grain intact. The film features some splendid colors within the costumes and 60s production design that radiate off the screen with a great vibrancy. The film is practically flawless with no noticeable instances of damage or dirt detected here. Black levels are incredibly deep with a pleasing stability throughout. Compression artifacts, banding and other such issues do not pop up as an issue in this transfer. This is the type of release that makes us exceedingly grateful for Warner Archive.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a remastered DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that is likewise quite enjoyable. Dialogue and background noises are represented favorably along with the breezy score from George Stoll. No sounds ever overpower the dialogue that is being exchanged here. While mostly dialogue driven throughout, the more kinetic, slapstick-y moments are handled with ease and give the track a bit of life. There is no discernible age related wear and tear to the track such as hissing or popping. Warner Archive has provided a disc that sounds excellent in all respects. There are also optional English (SDH) subtitles included for the feature film.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Shirley Jones, Dina Merrill and Stella Stevens provide a really terrific archival commentary track in which they discuss getting involved with the picture, their experiences working with Glenn Ford and Ron Howard, the work of Vincente Minnelli, memories from the production, the connections to their characters and more. This is a must listen for any fan of the film.

Penthouse Mouse: A seven-minute Tom and Jerry short is provided here which was the first to be directed by Chuck Jones. This is a really amusing tale that is presented in HD.

Trailer: A three-minute trailer is provided here.

Final Thoughts

The Courtship Of Eddie’s Father is chock full of charm throughout its surprisingly lengthy runtime. The length is put to good use, though, as the women in the orbit of both Tom and Eddie are given a chance to develop themselves as individuals a bit more. The script has its dated moments, but it should be commended for not distilling any of these women down to harmful caricatures. The performances are pretty great all around – even if Ron Howard sets a new bar for precociousness. There is a bit of room left where the film could have explored the more dramatic side of this narrative, but it handles the tonal balance pretty well all things considered. Warner Archive has released a stellar new Blu-Ray that sports a 5-star A/V presentation and some fun special features. If you are a fan of any of the cast members or just want a heartfelt and funny 60s romantic comedy, this one is a gem. Recommended

The Courtship Of Eddie’s Father can be purchased directly through MovieZyng or through various other online retailers.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Warner Archive has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.