Friendly Persuasion

Friendly Persuasion is set in Indiana in 1862, during the American Civil War, and centres on the Birdwell family, who belong to the Quaker faith. Their beliefs forbid violence in any form, yet the war keeps pressing in on their daily life, and even ordinary moments test how strictly they can hold to their principles. The household is led by Jess and his wife Eliza, who has a leading role in the local Quaker community, and they are raising three children. The central tension comes when their son Josh, unwilling to be seen as a coward, enlists, while his parents must decide how far their pacifism can stretch when the fighting comes close to home.

William Wyler directed and produced the film, working from a screenplay by Michael Wilson. It was the sixteenth of the twenty-two features Wyler directed in chronological order, arriving between The Desperate Hours and The Big Country. Gary Cooper plays Jess Birdwell, with Dorothy McGuire as Eliza and Anthony Perkins as Josh. Richard Eyer, Robert Middleton and Phyllis Love round out the main cast, and 114 performers are credited in all.

The production had a budget of 3 million dollars and took in 8 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds a rating of 7.3 from around 8,400 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.6 from 145 votes. A critics' rating of 7 out of 10 from 11 reviews places it close to the audience score on IMDb and above the TMDB figure.