It's set in 1862 in Jennings County, Indiana, not far from the Ohio River and Kentucky. It follows a Quaker family's experience with the Civil War.
The Birdwells are a Quaker family of five. Jess (Gary Cooper) is a small farmer that sells nursery products like fruit trees and bushes. He's devout but inclined to push the edges of Quaker customs. His wife, Eliza (Dorothy Malone), is devout and also a preacher (Quaker women have preached from the beginning of the movement). However, their meeting is mainly of the silent Quaker type. Josh (Anthony Perkins) is the oldest child and uncertain about his pacifist beliefs in the face of potential attacks by Morgan's Raiders. Mattie is the daughter who is in love with Gard Jordan (Mark Richman), a Union soldier and a Methodist. Little Jess (Richard Eyer) is the younger son and provides much of the comic relief in the movie. Father Jess's friend is Sam Jordon (Robert Middleton), a prosperous Methodist who likes to race with Jess on the way to their respective churches on Sunday mornings.
Much of the film quaintly portrays Quaker practices clashing with secular society, as in a summer fair or the allowance of a pedal organ in the home. It also reflects a very 1950s perspective on romance, in which the only goal of a young woman is to get married. However, the serious themes of war and peace are addressed when Confederate soldiers threaten the community and engage various members of the Birdwell family in differing ways.
The movie is not very sophisticated, and I wondered about some of the distinctives (or lack of them) attributed to the Quakers. However, Jessamyn West consulted on the movie and was a Quaker from southern Indiana, so I presume appearances must be relatively accurate. The issue of pacifism is addressed directly, albeit somewhat superficially. Nonetheless, it was engaged more sympathetically than most films do.
The Birdwells are a Quaker family of five. Jess (Gary Cooper) is a small farmer that sells nursery products like fruit trees and bushes. He's devout but inclined to push the edges of Quaker customs. His wife, Eliza (Dorothy Malone), is devout and also a preacher (Quaker women have preached from the beginning of the movement). However, their meeting is mainly of the silent Quaker type. Josh (Anthony Perkins) is the oldest child and uncertain about his pacifist beliefs in the face of potential attacks by Morgan's Raiders. Mattie is the daughter who is in love with Gard Jordan (Mark Richman), a Union soldier and a Methodist. Little Jess (Richard Eyer) is the younger son and provides much of the comic relief in the movie. Father Jess's friend is Sam Jordon (Robert Middleton), a prosperous Methodist who likes to race with Jess on the way to their respective churches on Sunday mornings.
Much of the film quaintly portrays Quaker practices clashing with secular society, as in a summer fair or the allowance of a pedal organ in the home. It also reflects a very 1950s perspective on romance, in which the only goal of a young woman is to get married. However, the serious themes of war and peace are addressed when Confederate soldiers threaten the community and engage various members of the Birdwell family in differing ways.
The movie is not very sophisticated, and I wondered about some of the distinctives (or lack of them) attributed to the Quakers. However, Jessamyn West consulted on the movie and was a Quaker from southern Indiana, so I presume appearances must be relatively accurate. The issue of pacifism is addressed directly, albeit somewhat superficially. Nonetheless, it was engaged more sympathetically than most films do.