Friendly Persuasion (1956 film)
| Friendly Persuasion | |
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Poster
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| Directed by | William Wyler |
| Produced by |
Robert Wyler William Wyler |
| Screenplay by | Michael Wilson |
| Based on |
The Friendly Persuasion 1945 novel by Jessamyn West |
| Starring |
Gary Cooper Dorothy McGuire Anthony Perkins Richard Eyer Robert Middleton Phyllis Love Peter Mark Richman Marjorie Main John Smith |
| Music by | Dimitri Tiomkin |
| Edited by | Robert Belcher Edward A. Biery Robert Swink |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Allied Artists (USA) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (foreign) |
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Release date
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Running time
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137 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3 million |
| Box office | $8 million (as of 1960) 3,051,784 admissions (France) |
Friendly Persuasion is a 1956 Civil War film starring Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire, Anthony Perkins, Richard Eyer, Robert Middleton and Phyllis Love. The screenplay was adapted by Michael Wilson from the 1945 novel The Friendly Persuasion by Jessamyn West, and was directed by William Wyler. The film tells the story of a pacifist Quaker family in southern Indiana during the American Civil War. The father of the family is gradually converted to supporting the war.
The film was originally released with no screenwriting credit because Wilson was on the Hollywood blacklist. His credit was restored in 1996.
The film is set in Jennings County, Indiana in 1862. Jess Birdwell (Gary Cooper) is a farmer and patriarch of the Birdwell family whose Quaker religion conflicts with his love for the worldly enjoyments of music and horse racing. Jess's wife Eliza, (Dorothy McGuire) a Quaker minister, is deeply religious and steadfast in her refusal to engage in violence. Jess's daughter Mattie (Phyllis Love) wants to remain a Quaker but has fallen in love with dashing cavalry officer Gard Jordan (Peter Mark Richman), a love that is against her mother's wishes. Jess's youngest child "Little" Jess (Richard Eyer) is a feisty child whose comical feud with his mother's pet goose causes her heartache. Jess's elder son Josh (Anthony Perkins) is torn between his hatred of violence and a conviction that to protect his family he must join the home guard and fight the invaders.
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