Fall in love with 'Father of Bride,' 'Courtship'

A few newly released golden-oldies have arrived on DVD -- a pair of domestic comedies from the 1950s and '60s, and a domestic comedy/ thriller from the late '70s.

-- "Father of the Bride" (Warner, 1950, b/w, not rated, $19.98). Steve Martin remade this movie with great success in the early 1990s, but the original with Spencer Tracy is still a hoot in its own right.

OK, it's black and white; OK, it's a bit low-key and slow; OK, all of the older males seem to be alcoholics. It's very much a film of its time.

But Elizabeth Taylor is impossibly gorgeous as the bride-to-be, and Tracy is hysterical as the well-organized father whose life is turned upside-down by her wedding plans.

Two complaints: Why not include the equally funny sequel, "Father's Little Dividend," and why isn't there any sound on the short newsreels included among the extras?

Extras: Full frame, two newsreels, production notes, trailer, etc.

-- "The Courtship of Eddie's Father" (Warner, 1963, not rated, $19.98). Glenn Ford is virtually unknown to younger audiences today, but he was a terrific natural actor who starred in just about every movie genre during his long cinematic career. And this was one of his biggest hits, as precocious Eddie (Ronny Howard), the young son of widower Tom Corbett (Ford), tries to find his dad a new wife.

The most obvious choice is divorcee Elizabeth (Shirley Jones), who lives across the hall and was the best friend of Tom's wife -- but Elizabeth and Tom always seem to end up arguing. Eddie next spots Dolly Daly (Stella Stevens), a naive but intelligent Miss Montana runner-up, but she ends up falling for a radio star (Jerry Van Dyke). Tom finds sophisticated Rita (Dina Merrill) himself, but Eddie doesn't see the attraction.

The film is a bit dated today, with politically incorrect views on women and a couple of scenes that are too shrill. But it also has many nice segments, including the memorable final scene. And best of all, it has Howard, a remarkable child actor who co-starred in two hit TV series, "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Happy Days," then grew up to be Oscar-winning director Ron Howard ("A Beautiful Mind," "Apollo 13").

There is an audio commentary by the three female stars, with Jones apparently being recorded alone, while Stevens and Merrill are together. Some of their comments are enjoyable, but sit-down interviews for a mini-documentary might have been better.

Extras: Widescreen, audio commentary, production notes, trailer, etc.

-- "The In-Laws" (Warner, 1979, PG, $19.98). I wrote about this film in a column a couple of weeks ago; it's hilarious (forget the remake in theaters now). And the pristine, widescreen print on this disc makes it the best home-video release yet.

There is also an option for a running audio commentary by stars Peter Falk and Alan Arkin, along with director Arthur Hiller and writer Andrew Bergman. There are some amusing anecdotes here and there, but the average viewer will find it a chore to sit through this foursome over-complimenting each other and simply chatting, as if they're at a party, rather than discussing what's on the screen.

In fact, they recall lines and talk about favorite scenes when other things are being shown! It's another audio track that would have been better if it had been filmed, edited and made into a short documentary.

Extras: Widescreen, audio commentary, text highlights of cast/ crew, trailer, etc.

E-MAIL: hicks@desnews.com

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