I caught Friendly Persuasion on AMC the other day. I've seen the film before, but I hadn't realized that its writer, Michael Wilson, was blacklisted in 1951 (the same year he won an Oscar for "A Place in the Sun"). "Friendly Persuasion" was released in 1956 and Wilson was not credited with writing it at the time (the print that AMC showed does list him in the credits).
Wilson was a talented writer and his credits include: "The Bridge on the River Kwai", "Lawrence of Arabia", and "Planet of the Apes" (which he co-wrote with Rod Serling). It's also interesting to note that his screenplay for "Friendly Persuasion" was nominated for an Academy Award, but that he was considered ineligible under Academy by-laws.
"Friendly Persuasion" tells the story of an Indiana Quaker family in the 1860's at the time of the Civil War. The film stars Gary Cooper as Jess Birdwell, a man who refuses (in the Quaker tradition) to take up arms against his fellow man. Dorothy McGuire is his wife Eliza. She's a minister and is stricter than her husband regarding matters of music and dancing. When Jess buys an organ at a fair she quickly takes up residence in the barn in protest. Anthony Perkins is their son, Josh. He's torn between his religion and his desire not to stand by while others fight. Phyllis Love plays the daughter, Mattie. She's fallen in love with Gard (Mark Richman), a Union soldier who also happens to be the son of their neighbor, Sam Jordan (Robert Middleton, who can also be seen in "A Big Hand for the Little Lady" which AMC has shown a lot recently).
Mattie seems oblivious as the war encroaches on their pastoral home (it looks a lot like a Norman Rockwell painting). She's in love, after all, and that's more important. Josh, on the other hand, is much more excited as he declares that troops are on their way and he has decided not to stand idly by, but to get in there and fight. Eliza strongly opposes, but Jess tells her that he's only the boy's father - not his conscience.
"Friendly Persuasion" may not seem like much, but I always enjoy it. I like the scenes of quiet, everyday life (the film has a nostalgic feel), where who wins the buggy race on the way to church takes on a huge significance. Sure there's serious, heart-tugging emotionalism too, but the scenes that really stand out are the smaller, more intimate ones. How many films really try to capture a sense of family life, as this one does? William Wyler (who directed a string of good films including "The Best Years of Our Lives", "Mrs. Miniver", "Roman Holiday", and "Ben Hur") directs these scenes with great warmth and affection. The performances are all really very good and the film is one of the few to educate us on Quaker religion.
[Note: Wyler's "Roman Holiday" was also penned by a blacklisted writer, Dalton Trumbo. "Holiday" was credited for nearly 40 years to another writer, who acted as a "front".]
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