G | 2h 17min | Drama | 1956
Gary Cooper’s “High Noon” (1952) merely touched on themes of Quakerism, pacifism, and fatalism, and how they relate to state-sanctioned attack or defense. Another of his movies, “Friendly Persuasion” (1956), explores these more deeply, more light-heartedly and, uniquely, from a Quaker’s perspective.
Jess Birdwell (Cooper) heads a Midwestern farming family of Quakers. His wife Eliza (Dorothy McGuire), adult daughter Mattie (Phyllis Love), adult son Josh (Anthony Perkins) and pre-teen son “Little” Jess (Richard Eyer) want nothing more than to continue the Indiana peace and quiet they’ve enjoyed all their lives. But America’s 19th-century Civil War has other ideas….