Gary is a Farmer

It's 1862 in southern Indiana. The Birdwell family, Jess (Gary Cooper), Eliza (Dorothy McGuire), Joshua (Anthony Perkins), Martha (Phyllis Love), and Little Jess (Richard Eyer) are getting ready for First Day. Of course, it is not without issues - Little Jess is being plagued by his mother's pet goose, Samantha. Mattie is fantasizing about her love, Gardner Jordan (Mark Richman). Jess is planning his attack for his weekly horse race with neighbor Sam Jordan (Robert Middleton), Eliza is thinking over her sermon for First Day. And Joshua is pondering his potential role in the ongoing Civil War, for the Birdwells are Quaker, and reject violence of any kind. Welcome to Friendly Persuasion (1956)

AFI Silver had a special screening of this excellent film, along with a question and answer session featuring Catherine Wyler (daughter of director William Wyler) and Maria Cooper Janis (daughter of star Gary Cooper). Both women discussed their respective parents' affection for the film - for Mr. Cooper, it was his favorite film - and their belief that their fathers' statements about war are very much present in the film's tenets.

The film is a deliberation on the ability of mankind to avoid violence. The Birdwells are peaceful people. It is apparent that Jess is a convert to the Quaker way of life, whereas Eliza was born to it. Jess has, by and large, accepts the precepts of his religion, though on occasion, he finds the life a challenge. For example, he likes music and dancing. He also can be pushed to violence - when his son is attacked by some bullies, it takes all his will-power to not simply flatten them. Jess is contrasted to Mr. Purdy (Richard Hale), a man who's belief in a peaceable life is valid only til it affects him. With his low-key strength, Mr. Cooper is perfect in the role; it's hard to imagine anyone else being able to do it. We discovered that Bing Crosby was considered for the part when Frank Capra owned the rights to the story (AFI catalog); writer Jessamyn West wanted Mr. Cooper.

Dorothy McGuire provides a quiet dignity that is essential to the character of Eliza. She is the anchor of the family, and of their faith. She's by no means perfect - she too likes music, and is drawn to dancing. She can be moved to anger. But Ms. McGuire shows Eliza's faith, as well as her deep love for her husband and children. Ms. Cooper Janis commented in the q&a how doubly impressive the performance is on a big screen, and it is very true. Ms. McGuire shines in any environment, but in a theatre, she is magical.

I'm especially fond of Robert Middleton's portrayal of neighbor Sam Jordan. With his hearty laugh, and good-humored teasing of Jess, he is an engaging character. But more than that, he shows the depth of his goodness when we see him going off to fight at the river. After lambasting the mercurial Purdy (who now espouses a violent confrontation against the enemy), Sam encourages Jess to stay behind, in hope that someone can be true a vision of peace. (It's interesting that the German poster below shows an angry Jess with a gun, totally contrary to the vision of the film.

The interplay between Phyllis Love and Mark Richman is delightful. Phyllis Love's  career was primarily spent in television and in theatre (She appeared in 8 Broadway plays).  She became a high school drama and English teacher in California. Married twice, she died in 2011, age 85. Mark Richman (he would eventually change his professional name to Peter Mark Richman) still occasionally performs. He was 91 this year, and his last film credit was in 2016. He too did theatre (he appeared in two Broadway plays), and like his co-star, really made his mark in television, appearing in a huge number of shows in the 1960-1990s. He is a painter as well as an actor, and currently is a member of the board of the Motion Picture and Television Fund.

Though the part of Enoch is a small one, Joel Fluellen makes his screen time count. An escaped slave, who has lost his whole family, Enoch opts to fight rather than give in to his potential captors. Jess's support of Enoch, as well as Josh's regard for him speak volumes about their views of the rights of men. We'd seen Mr. Fluellen in Lucy Gallant, and liked him there. In this role, he's really given a chance to demonstrate his talent.

Jessamyn West would write a follow-up to Friendly Persuasion, Except for Me and Thee.  That would be made into a 1975 television movie (titled Friendly Persuasion), starring Richard Kiley and Shirley Knight (TCM article). 

Though Mr. Wyler always wanted Gary Cooper for Jess, other actresses were considered for the part of Eliza - Katharine Hepburn, Vivien Leigh, Ingrid Bergman (who was still in exile with Roberto Rossellini), Margaret Sullavan, Mary Martin, Teresa Wright, Martha Scott, Jane Russell, Eva Marie Saint, Maureen O'Hara and Eleanor Parker (the latter two actually screen tested). John Kerr and Susan Strasberg were considered for the roles of Josh and Mattie.

If you've never seen this wonderful film, please consider giving it a try. And if you have seen it before, I recommend a revisit. It is a film that always brings something new to each viewing. I'll leave you with a trailer from the film.

Jane Sells Haute Couture

When a rainstorm floods out a train trestle and strands her in the boom town New City, Texas, Lucy Gallant (1955) (played by Jane Wyman) realizes she can make her fortune by selling the nouveau riche clothing from New York and Paris. With the help of local banker Charlie Madden (William Demarest), the owner of the local brothel Lady "Mac" MacBeth Claire Treveor), and rancher Casey Cole (Charlton Heston), Lucy opens a store. But the success of the store creates a barrier between her and Casey - he wants a stay-at-home wife, and Lucy loves working.

I try to not give away the ending of films as a rule, but as our major issue with Lucy Gallant was the ending, I'll have to do a bit of a spoiler. We had thoroughly enjoyed it up until the last scene, but the standard 1950s woman as "handmaiden to her man" routine was irritating. The character of Lucy Gallant is so attractive - she's smart, clever, imaginative, kind, and loyal - it's hard to see her giving up her dream because some man doesn't want his wife working.  We found ourselves coming up with a five years later scenario in which Lucy was back running her beloved store.

Based on a novella, The Life of Lucy Gallant by Margaret Cousins, this is an interesting portrait of the women in New City.  The characters of Lucy, Molly Basserman (Thelma Ritter) and Mac are carefully drawn. All are strong characters, well able to take care of themselves (and often having to do so). The script is not so careful of the the men.  Casey begins as gentleman-ly and rather attractive, but deteriorates into a petulant, chauvinistic caricature. Gus Basserman (Wallace Ford) may have found oil, but he remains a crude drunk, Jim Wardman (Tom Helmore) is your typical northern carpetbagger, and Charlie Madden is a weakling. In fact, the only reliable male here is Summertime (Joel Fluellen), who remains loyal to Lucy through every crisis, but as an African-American is relegated, per the mores of the time, to being the doorman at Gallant's.

Jeanine Basinger, in her book A Women's View: How Hollywood Spoke to Women 1930-1960 posits that the film equates Lucy's life in the department store as a prison, where freedom is marriage and children. But I would suggest there is another subtext in the film, much more hidden, and possibly more critical of the role Lucy assumes at the film's conclusion. The biggest advocate for Lucy's marriage to Casey is Molly Basserman. At the beginning of the film, Molly runs a boarding house while her husband wildcats for oil. Later in the film, we see Gus Basserman drinking and whoring. Finally, Lucy discovers that Gus has purchased a very expensive fur coat for another woman, and it appears that Molly is blissfully unaware of her husband's infidelity. With this the only symbol of a "happy" marriage in the film, just WHAT is Lucy getting herself into?

In their review of the film, the New York Times comments that Charlton Heston is "not believable" as Casey. We tend to agree. He plays the role as though pouting for the whole film. While at first, Casey seems like a gallant gentleman, after awhile he is merely annoying. He seems to have no regard for Lucy's happiness, and he is unable to compromise on anything. We expected that the character would grow, but he did not. Heston was allegedly dissatisfied with his performance - his mind was elsewhere. When Lucy Gallant wrapped, Heston flew off for his next role - in The Ten Commandments!

The film is very much about fashion, and there are some lovely outfits (though most have a 1950s vibe, even though much of the action takes place before the second World War). We also get treated to a Vista Vision fashion show, emceed by the one and only Edith Head (who designed the dresses for the film). 

The film demonstrates that the growth of Gallant's mirrors the growth of the town of New City, and the dominance of the female clientele in the town. We see other stores begin to appear near Gallant's, including a high-end jewelry story. The women in the town dress better, and there is a decidedly more cosmopolitan air to New City by the conclusion of the film.

According to the AFI catalog, Joan Crawford was at first interested in the part of Lucy. The Hollywood Reporter had also announced that Jody McCrea (son of Joel and Frances Dee) and Julie Dorsey (daughter of Jimmy) were to have made their film debuts in Lucy Gallant; neither however made it to the final version of the film. 

We'll leave you with an early scene, in which Lucy meets some of the local ladies of New City: