Friendly Persuasion

"With the help of God our children must make their own choices." Friendly Persuasion (1956) by Jessamyn West (book) and Michael Wilson (screenplay) is a family drama about the polarities of war, family, friendship, romance, beliefs, and temperaments. In the idyllic countryside of Southern Indiana, 1862, the peaceful lives of a Quaker family and friends are intermingled with the encroaching threat of the Civil War. At the center of this war-time drama is the devout, loving, and steel-willed Eliza Birdwell (Dorothy McGuire), her steady, yet spirited and loving husband Jess (Gary Cooper), their day-dreaming, love-struck daughter Mattie (Phyllis Love), their principled and uncertain older son Josh (Anthony Perkins), and the young-spirited Little Jess (Richard Eyer). Early on, we see that the Quaker way of life is what ties this family together, as well as Eliza's firm resolve to be peaceful and loving. In ALL relationships, there is an obvious current of tension, starting with Little Jess and the family goose Samantha, between the buggy racing friends Jess and Sam, between the more conservative Eliza and the more adventurous Jess, between the equally amorous and attractive Mattie and Gard, between Major Harvey and the Quakers that refuse to fight, between horses Red Rover and Prince and then between Prince and Lady, between Josh and the aggressive Hudspeth daughters, and, of course, the ongoing tension between Eliza and her need to control everyone in her life, including herself. The fear propelling Eliza is most evident at the Fair, where most everyone is enjoying the festivities-dancing, music, games, gambling, wrestling, fighting, and garters--but Eliza can only see the evils of temptation. I think that at the heart of all this tension, and the supposed polarities, is the question of whether a difference truly exists between a doggedly peaceful spirit and a fighting spirit-except as one chooses to express it. As Jess says, "A man's life ain't worth a hill of beans except he lives up to his own conscience."