Friendly Persuasion

UPC: 085391669326

Studio: Warner Home Video

MPAA Rating: NR   Contains:[Mild Violence, Suitable for Children]

Summary: Adapted from the best-selling novel by Jessamyn West, Friendly Persuasion is set in Southern Indiana in the early days of the Civil War. Gary Cooper plays Jess Birdwell, patriarch of a Quaker family which does not believe in warfare. Birdwell's son Josh (Anthony Perkins) wishes to adhere to his family's pacifism, but is afraid that if he doesn't sign up for military service, he'll prove to be a coward. Josh joins the Home Guard, which disturbs his mother Eliza (Dorothy McGuire). But Jess Birdwell realizes that his son must follow the dictates of his own conscience. Josh proves his courage to himself when he is wounded during a Rebel raid, while the elder Birdwell is able to stay faithful to his religious calling by not killing a Southern soldier when given both a chance and a good reason to do so. Allegedly, writer Jessamyn West nearly scotched her deal with producer/director William Wyler and distributor Allied Artists when Gary Cooper, taking his fans into consideration, insisted upon including a scene in which he forsakes his pacifism and takes arms against the Rebels. If true, then wiser heads prevailed, since no such scene exists in the final release print. Though uncredited due to his status as a blacklistee, Michael Wilson wrote the screenplay for Friendly Persuasion--and even won an Oscar nomination. Also nominated was the film's chart-busting theme song, "Thee I Love" (by Dmitri Tiomkin and Paul Francis Webster). The story was remade as a 2-hour TV pilot film in 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Best Director – Directors Guild of America Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama – null Best Supporting Actress – null Motion Picture Promoting International Understanding – null Best Adapted Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Song – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Song – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Palme d'Or – Cannes Film Festival Best Picture – National Board of Review Best Actress – National Board of Review Best Supporting Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Motion Picture Promoting International Understanding – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Moti – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: Behind-the-scenes documentary segment from the 1955 NBC-TV series "Wide Wide World"
Interactive menus
Production notes
Theatrical trailer
Scene access
Subtitles: English & Fran?ais

Friendly Persuasion

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 12/05/2000

Audio: 1 USA & territories, Canada

Runtime: 137 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French

Subtitles: English,French

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
0. Scene Selections
1. Embroidered Credits [1:57]
2. The Goose and I [2:54]
3. Mattie and Josh [2:34]
4. Thy Directions [2:25]
5. The Ride to Meeting [6:37]
6. Two Houses of God [2:39]
7. God Is Love [1:59]
8. Major Harvey's Entreaty [6:08]
9. Gard Comes Calling [3:33]
10. Jennings County Fair [3:43]
11. Forgetting Themselves [5:47]
12. An Altercation [4:16]
13. On the Road [2:40]
14. The Ladies Hudspeth [5:28]
15. Horse Trading [3:13]
16. Marry Me, Marry Me [3:42]
17. Eliza or the Organ [3:38]
18. Sam's Timely Visit [4:09]
19. A Night Out [2:39]
20. Godspeed [4:20]
21. The Race to Meeting [4:37]
22. Vocal Prayer [8:43]
23. Silent Prayer [3:00]
24. Hard Not to Be Clumsy [4:54]
25. Farewell to Gard [4:57]
26. Not His Conscience [3:23]
27. Prayer and a Choice [5:03]
28. Readying for Battle [2:53]
29. A Better Way of Settling Things [3:02]
30. Enemy in His Sights [4:24]
31. Rifle in Hand [3:19]
32. Welcoming the Raiders [1:46]
33. Defending Samantha [2:20]
34. A Friend's Death [2:26]
35. "I'll not harm thee" [2:43]
36. A Survivor [2:03]
37. Veterans Off to Meeting [3:25]

Richard Gilliam

Friendly Persuasion is a charming, sensitive tale of a family of Quakers that attempts to maintain their pacifist ideals amid the turmoil of the U.S. Civil War. Best-known for playing quiet, understated characters who use violence when pushed too far, Gary Cooper gets the opportunity to explore a more peaceful resolution -- though the film occasionally suggests that no person can be completely pacifistic. The tech credits are solid, as should be expected for a film directed by William Wyler; of particular note are Dimitri Tiomkin's score and Dorothy Jeakins's costume design. Though the film tends to exaggerate Quaker speech, the performances are convincing, and the screenplay (by blacklisted Michael Wilson) does a good job of transferring Jessamyn West's story to the screen. The film received six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, though it did not win in any category. ~ Richard Gilliam, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Mary Jackson  Actor 
William Schallert  Actor 
John Craven  Actor 
Diane Jergens  Actor 
James Anderson  Actor 
Harry Hines  Actor 
Helen Kleeb  Actor 
John M. Pickard  Actor 
Joe Turkel  Actor 
Jean Innes  Actor 
Nelson Leigh  Actor 
Henry Rowland  Actor 
Chuck Courtney  Actor 
Frank S. Hagney  Actor 
Frank Jenks  Actor 
James Seay  Actor 
John Compton  Actor 
Richard Garland  Actor 
Tom Irish  Actor 
Ralph Sanford  Actor 
James Dobson  Actor 
Donald Kerr  Actor 
Earl Hodgins  Actor 
Norman Leavitt  Actor 
Ivan Rasputin  Actor 
Steve Warren  Actor 
Dimitri Tiomkin  Composer (Music Score) 
Michael Wilson  Screenwriter 
William Wyler  Director 
William Wyler  Producer 
Gary Cooper  Actor 
Dorothy McGuire  Actor 
Anthony Perkins  Actor 
Marjorie Main  Actor 
Robert Middleton  Actor 
Richard Eyer  Actor 
Phyllis Love  Actor 
Mark Richman  Actor 
Walter Catlett  Actor 
Richard Hale  Actor 
Joel Fluellen  Actor 
Theodore Newton  Actor 
John Smith  Actor 
Mary Carr  Actor 
Edna Skinner  Actor 
Marjorie Durant  Actor 
Russell Simpson  Actor 
Charles Halton  Actor 
Everett Glass  Actor 

Country: USA