A labor of love for director William Wyler, based upon the stories of Jessamyn West regarding the Birdwells, a peacemaking Quaker family in 1862 Indiana who are faced with changing times when Civil War unrest breaks out. Will the Birdwell men fight for their freedom or "hide" behind the sanctity of the church? Gary Cooper plays the family patriarch with a rascally touch; he coasts through the role--never letting us forget he's acting the good sport--though his boyish charm sparks the proceedings and attains the good will of the audience. The children bristle under the strict guidance of their by-the-Good-Book mother (a retread performance from Dorothy McGuire), with eldest son Anthony Perkins questioning the family's refusal to become involved in potentially violent matters. There's also a bad-tempered goose, and a freckle-faced child who opens the movie with a voice-over narration (which is then, thankfully, abandoned). Certainly the most prestigious picture up to this time to be released from second-string Allied Artists, though the plastic coating over the project mitigates against enthusiasm. ** from ****
Review of Friendly Persuasion
