| Young Mr. Lincoln | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | John Ford |
| Written by | Lamar Trotti |
| Produced by | Darryl F. Zanuck Kenneth Macgowan |
| Starring | Henry Fonda Alice Brady Marjorie Weaver Arleen Whelan |
| Cinematography | Bert Glennon |
| Edited by | Walter Thompson |
| Music by | Alfred Newman |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | 20th Century-Fox |
Release date |
|
Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,500,000 (estimated) |
Young Mr. Lincoln is a 1939 Americanbiographicaldrama film about the early life of PresidentAbraham Lincoln, directed byJohn Ford and starringHenry Fonda.[1][2] Ford and producerDarryl F. Zanuck fought for control of the film, to the point where Ford destroyed unwanted takes for fear the studio would use them in the film.[citation needed] ScreenwriterLamar Trotti was nominated for anAcademy Award forBest Writing/Original Story.
In 2003,Young Mr. Lincoln was selected for preservation in the United StatesNational Film Registry by theLibrary of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
In 1832, a family traveling throughNew Salem,Illinois in their wagon need groceries from Lincoln's store, and the only thing of value that they have to trade is a barrel of old books including a law book,Blackstone's Commentaries. After thoroughly reading the book, Lincoln opts for the law after receiving encouragement from his early, ill-fated love,Ann Rutledge, who soon dies. Too poor to own even a horse, he arrives inSpringfield, Illinois, on a mule and soon establishes a law practice in 1837 with his friend, John Stuart. After a raucous, day-longIndependence Day celebration, a man, Skrub White, is killed after he pulled a gun in a fight. The accused are two brothers, Matt and Adam Clay. Lincoln prevents the lynching of the accused at the jail by shaming the angry, drunken mob. He also convinces it that he really needs the clients for his first real case.
Admiring his courage,Mary Todd invites Lincoln to her sister's soiree. Despite being aggressively courted by the very polishedStephen Douglas, Mary is interested in Lincoln. She faithfully attends the trial of the Clay boys, sits in the front row, and listens closely.
The boys' mother, Abigail Clay, who witnessed the end of the fight, and Lincoln are pressured by the prosecutor to save one of the brothers at the expense of the other's conviction. However, the key witness to the crime, J. Palmer Cass, is a friend of the victim who claims to have seen the murder at a distance of about 100 yards (91.4 meters) under the light of the moon: "It was moon bright". However, Lincoln persists and is able, by using an almanac, to demonstrate that on the night in question, the moon had set before the time of death. He then drives Cass to confess that he had actually stabbed his friend.
The film has as its basis the murder case againstWilliam "Duff" Armstrong, which took place in 1858 at the courthouse inBeardstown, Illinois, the only courthouse in which Lincoln practiced law that is still in use. Lincoln proved the witness against the accused was lying about being able to see by the light of the Moon, using an almanac. Armstrong was acquitted.
In a favorable review forThe New York Times,Frank Nugent wrote that the film's tableaux of scenes and characters gave the film "the right to be calledAmericana," and praised Fonda's performance:
Henry Fonda's characterization is one of those once-in-a-blue-moon things: a crossroads meeting of nature, art and a smart casting director. Nature gave Mr. Fonda long legs and arms, a strong and honest face and a slow smile; the make-up man added a new nose bridge.... [Fonda's] performance kindles the film, makes it a moving unity, at once gentle and quizzically comic.[4]
In an essay that not only discusses the film, but also sheds light on theSoviet view of Lincoln's career and mythos, Russian filmmakerSergei Eisenstein namedYoung Mr. Lincoln as the one American film that he most wishes he had made, lauding its "harmony," the "stylizeddaguerrotype manner" of its photography, and the sympathy and subtlety with which it portrays Lincoln, whom Eisenstein likens to Russian folk heroIlya Muromets.[5]
In her book,5001 Nights at the Movies,Pauline Kael wrote positively about the film: "One of John Ford's most memorable films, and not at all the tedious bummer that the title might suggest. . . . Henry Fonda, in one of his best early performances, is funny and poignant as the drawling, awkward young hero."[6]
Young Mr. Lincoln was adapted as a radio play on the July 10, 1946, episode ofAcademy Award Theater.[7]
TheVillage Theatre ofEverett andIssaquah, Washington has commissioned a new musical based on the film titledLincoln in Love, book and lyrics byPeter S. Kellogg and music byDavid Friedman.
