Young Mr. Lincoln (1939)

A fictionalized account of the early life of the American president as a young lawyer facing his greatest court case.

Director:

John Ford

Writer:

Lamar Trotti (original screenplay)

Stars:

Henry Fonda, Alice Brady, Marjorie Weaver

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Henry Fonda	...	Abraham Lincoln
Alice Brady	...	Abigail Clay
Marjorie Weaver	...	Mary Todd
Arleen Whelan	...	Sarah Clay
Eddie Collins	...	Efe Turner
Pauline Moore	...	Ann Rutledge
Richard Cromwell	...	Matt Clay
Donald Meek	...	Prosecutor John Felder
Judith Dickens	...	Carrie Sue
Eddie Quillan	...	Adam Clay
Spencer Charters	...	Judge Herbert A. Bell
Ward Bond	...	John Palmer Cass

Storyline

Ten years in the life of Abraham Lincoln, before he became known to his nation and the world. He moves from a Kentucky cabin to Springfield, Illinois, to begin his law practice. He defends two men accused of murder in a political brawl, suffers the death of his girlfriend Ann, courts his future wife Mary Todd, and agrees to go into politics.

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Plot Keywords:

1830s | national film registry | top hat | mule | horse | 

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Taglines:

The story of Abraham Lincoln that has NEVER been told!

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 June 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Young Mr. Lincoln

Filming Locations:

Sacramento, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

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Goofs

After the trial, Steve Douglas confesses that he'd made some remarks about Lincoln that he wanted to publicly retract. The only problem was there were only three people present; Lincoln, Douglas, and Marry Todd. Hardly public.

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Quotes

Abe Lincoln: [cross-examining Cass] J. Palmer Cass.
John Palmer Cass: Yes, sir.
Abe Lincoln: What's the "J" stand for?
John Palmer Cass: John.
Abe Lincoln: Anyone ever call you Jack?
John Palmer Cass: Yeah, but...
Abe Lincoln: Why "J. Palmer Cass?" Why not "John P. Cass?"
John Palmer Cass: Well, I...
Abe Lincoln: Does "J. Palmer Cass" have something to hide?
John Palmer Cass: No.
[...]

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Connections

Featured in Alice in the Cities (1974)

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Soundtracks

The Dew Is On The Blossom
(uncredited)
Played when Abe is kneeling by Anns grave

User Reviews

Great Ford, and Great Americana

Why does this movie get so little attention? Maybe because it came out in that overstuffed great-movie year, 1939 (Wizard of Oz, Dark Victory, Grand Illusion, GWTW [which I can't stand]). But I really think it's because YML is a transitional film for Ford -- it's stuck between his early expressionistic period ("The Informer") and his classic Western period, with one stylistic foot in each. And it's unabashedly patriotic, only hinting at the dark reimagining of the American experience that the Master would come to in "The Searchers" and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" -- but still hinting at it enough to turn off the McVeighs among us.

Maybe that's why I love it. You can see Ford coming to terms with the grand, Griffithesque vision of America through its most complicated avatar, Lincoln. Ford's love for his country was more like Lincoln's than Griffith's, anyway: like Lincoln, he acknowledged the genius of the democratic experiment, but he was also aware of its dangers: mob rule and self-satisfaction. YML's greatest scenes are all about this.

First, there's the local parade Abe attends, surrounded by yahoos whom he loves but also sees for what they are. (We see him in another scene accepting a legal case from one of these -- and warily biting the coin offered him for a retainer.) Veterans of the recent War of 1812 and Indian Wars march through; the crowd is wild for them, Abe merely respectful.Then a agon of old men in tricorners is pulled through the parade route. No one seems to know who they are. Lincoln quietly informs his friends that they are veterans of the War for Independence -- and gravely doffs his stovepipe hat. His friends, mildly ashamed (it appears) of their prevous jingoistic glee, follow suit, and stand silent and hatless as the old men pass.

Then the mildly ludicrous plot -- about two brothers accused of another man's murder -- kicks in, and Abe goes to work. The scene where he confronts a lynch mob, putting his foot up against the log they're using for a battering-ram against the jailhouse door, is a classic by any standard. But note how Abe talks to the mob on its own level while remaining, in spirit, resolutely on his own higher plane. After appealing to their macho impulses by offering to "lick any man here," he delivers a house-divided speech that soothes their savagery and leaves them confused and irresolute. "Dontcha wanna put that log down now, boys?" he asks when they have been flummoxed by his eloquence. "Ain't it gettin' a mite heavy?"

Throughout Ford indulges in shameless historical foreshadowings that would have made Stephen Vincent Benet blush. Abe meets Mary Todd and Stephen Douglas; he rides down a dirt road with a bumpkin who's playing a new tune called "Dixie" on a jaw-harp. "Kinda makes you feel like marchin'!" says the bumpkin, as he and Abe ride through a muddy patch in the road.

The ending is impossible to describe without inviting derision, but I swear to you, it works. Having won his case, Lincoln allows as how he might take a walk -- "maybe to the top of that hill." As he trudges on, the skies send down rain and lightning -- and Abe seems to know what this is a prelude to.

I acknowledge the superiority of the great Ford films that came after, but I will always have a special place in my heart for "Young Mr. Lincoln." Independence Day (the federal day of observance, not the movie) is coming; you could do far worse than to watch this great film before the barbecue.