The film was subsequently adapted into a television series of the same title with Bill Bixby and Brandon Cruz, which ran from 1969 to 1972 on ABC.

Eddie Corbett lives with his widowed father, Tom, a radio station executive, in Manhattan.

After a few days, Mrs. Livingston tells Tom about his next-door neighbor Elizabeth Marten, a young divorcée.

Moments later, Tom answers the door and greets Elizabeth, who has brought fudge brownies for Eddie.

The next day, Tom confronts disc jockey Norman Jones about his continuing attempts to court a girlfriend on-air.

Meanwhile, Rita Behrens, a socialite fashion designer being interviewed on Norman's program, becomes romantically interested in Tom.

During Eddie's birthday party, Rita tells Tom over the phone that Norman and Dollye are engaged to be married.

Rita invites Tom to their engagement party, and brings Eddie after Elizabeth and Mrs. Livingston decline to babysit him.

Eddie tearfully tells his father to marry Elizabeth, but Tom declines as he intends to propose to Rita.

Tom hastily drives to the camp, and later learns that Eddie stowed away to Manhattan and is staying with Elizabeth.

"[3] Producer Joe Pasternak assigned John Gay to write the script and hired Glenn Ford to star.

[6] Pasternak says he interviewed hundreds of children to play Eddie but as soon as he talked to Ronny Howard "I knew he was right.