Editing Friendly Persuasion (1956 film) (section)

==Production==
The film was in development for eight years; producer-director [[William Wyler]] brought the project to [[Allied Artists Pictures Corporation]] (formerly known as Monogram Pictures Corporation) from [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]]; Allied agreed to a $1.5 million budget for what was Wyler's first film in color for a commercial studio.  Wyler had previously shot two documentaries in color in 1944, ''[[The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress]]'' and the uncredited ''[[The Fighting Lady]]''.<ref>{{IMDb title|0036152|The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress (1944)}}</ref><ref>{{IMDb title|0036823|The Fighting Lady (1944)}}</ref> In 1947, he shot the documentary, ''[[Thunderbolt (1947 film)|Thunderbolt]]'', in color.<ref>{{IMDb title|0038171|Thunderbolt (1947)}}</ref>

The film's shooting location was moved from southern Indiana to a combination of a [[Republic Pictures|Republic studio]] and a San Fernando Valley estate,<ref name="tcm"/> The film ended up costing over $3 million.<ref name="variety">{{cite magazine| title= Friendly Persuasion | url= https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117791127/| year = 1956  | magazine= Variety | access-date= October 6, 2011}}</ref> The film went over budget to the point that Allied sold the foreign distribution rights to [[MGM]] to raise more funds.<ref>Mirisch, pp. 80–81</ref>

[[Jessamyn West (writer)|Jessamyn West]] spent a year with the production as both story writer and as technical adviser (credited). Her novel covered a forty-year span of the Birdwell family history and was essentially plotless, so to make the movie effective, she arranged the sequences selected for filming around the Civil War vignette from the novel (altering it significantly for dramatic action) and compressed the whole into a single year, 1862, using the war as the central plot conflict. She created new characters (primarily the Jordans) to fill in for others that had to be deleted, and entirely wrote out Laban, the second eldest son in the novel, substituting a new character, Josh's friend Caleb Cope ([[John Smith (actor)|John Smith]]), as a two-scene surrogate. The character Mattie was a composite of the two surviving Birdwell daughters in the novel. Wyler wanted his brother, associate producer [[Robert Wyler]], and author Jessamyn West to receive credit for rewriting the script (also including Wilson), but the [[Writers Guild of America|WGA]] ruled that Wilson deserved sole credit for his screenplay.

Cooper expressed initial reservations to West about his character, noting that since in his previous roles "'action seems to come natural to me,' the father should be shown joining the fight. 'There comes a time in a picture of mine when the people watching expect me to do something,' he said. West responded he would do something: 'Refrain. You will furnish your public with the refreshing picture of a strong man refraining.'"<ref name="tcm"/> Cooper followed West's advice.  He researched his role by attending West's Quaker meeting, East Whittier Friends Church.  Cooper had not wanted to play the father of grown-up children, although he was 55 in real life. He supposedly disliked the finished film and his own performance.

Dorothy McGuire was cast as Cooper's wife after Wyler's choice, [[Katharine Hepburn]], declined.<ref>Mirisch, p. 80</ref> It was Perkins' second film, after his debut in the 1953 film ''[[The Actress]]''; his Broadway success with ''[[Tea and Sympathy (play)|Tea and Sympathy]]'' in the meantime tempted him to remain on the stage, though ultimately he decided to do the film.<ref name="tcm"/>

During production, cameras for the television documentary series ''[[Wide Wide World]]'' visited the set. According to show host [[Dave Garroway]], it was the first live broadcast from a movie set.<ref>''Wide Wide World'', episode 4 (1955). Via ''Friendly Persuasion'' DVD, [[Warner Home Video]] (2001). Event occurs at 0:45.</ref>